Change My Mind
by xsilverliningx
Summary: Remus is immediately intrigued by the vague and airy Ariadne Golding. Sirius is bent on teasing Emmeline Vance for the rest of her life. As Lily slowly begins to break apart, James is the only one there to help her. Three love stories in one; full summary inside. JP/LE SB/EV RL/OC **Not a fifth Marauder story**
1. Summary

**Change My Mind**

_Summary_

* * *

For their first six years at Hogwarts, things between the Marauders were pretty simple: it was just James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew—well, them and Remus's lycanthropy and James's obsession over Lily Evans. During their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, these trouble-making boys learn that their Marauding days at Hogwarts may soon be over, but as they're about to be shown, true friendship never ends. Not even when things take a turn for the… erm… strange?

James is more determined than ever to score a date with Lily; she wishes he'd just drop dead. Until things take a turn for the worse.  
Peter is fighting for the attention that his friends have been depriving him of; he'd do anything just to be included.  
Emmeline has never had much love for Sirius; he's never glanced twice at her. Not until now, anyway.  
Ariadne is a strange girl who has her head in the clouds, and Remus is finding it impossible to reach her with his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Opinions are made based on hasty decisions and accidental encounters, and this small group of students will discover just exactly what it takes to change their minds.

James Potter and Lily Evans  
Sirius Black and Emmeline Vance  
Remus Lupin and OC Ariadne Golding

Part one of an epic journey.

* * *

**I own nothing except my original characters and story ideas.  
I just want to be clear on this point: _This is not a fifth marauder story!_  
It's really hard to sum up my ideas for this story in so few words, but I really hope I gave a general picture. If you're kind of iffy on whether or not you want to read on, please give this story a chance and at least read the first chapter; don't judge it based on my crappy summary skills.**  
**If you do continue to read (and enjoy it), keep in mind how much your support means to me.** **I will never require anyone to review, although any type of feedback is greatly appreciated.** **I hope you keep reading and enjoy it as much as I have loved writing it. :)**


	2. Chapter One

**Change My Mind**

_An Open Door_

* * *

It wasn't James and Sirius's hatred that lead them to it. It had nothing to do with the way James hated Snape for the friendship he used to share with Lily, or how he detested him for betraying her. It wasn't even because of the way Sirius couldn't stand how important blood status was to the greasy prick, or how Slughorn practically drooled over his natural talent with potions. Well, not entirely at least. Mostly it was because of the full moon—the previous night had been particularly bad for the Marauders, and they needed something to laugh at, something to take their minds off of it. Snape just so happened to be the perfect target, and Slughorn just so happened to give them the perfect idea. They only wished Peter could be there to see it, though they figured he'd be perfectly happy to hear about it later.

"For those who finished the first half of the potion particularly early, the forty-five minute brew time will be up soon," Slughorn reminded his seventh year students, "keep your eyes on the time." Slughorn seemed particularly smug with himself today—as if he thought giving his students an easy day after an exceedingly hard assessment would make him the favorite professor in his pupil's eyes; Slughorn always did like to be favored. Little did he realize, his students did not care much.

"Five horned slugs and two porcupine quills," murmured a Gryffindor named Emmeline Vance, who was taking one last glance at the recipe for the potion before she headed off to gather the last of the needed supplies.

"_Four_ horned slugs," sneered the boy next to her before he headed towards the supply cabinet, which was only a few meters to the right and behind them.

"Shut up, Snape," she snapped, but followed him towards the cabinet nonetheless.

"Come on, Padfoot," said James Potter as he grinned wildly at his friend a few tables away, "Shall we go gather the rest of our supplies?"

Sirius Black winked at his messy-haired friend. "We shall."

The pair nonchalantly made their way towards the supply cabinet, making a small detour on the way. "Oi, Prongs!" Sirius called, "This one looks particularly spiffy, doesn't it?"

"That it does, Padfoot. That it does," replied James, as he peered into the cauldron innocently.

"Piss off, Potter," Snape snapped, cueing the two troublemakers to turn around. Sirius smirked as he saw Snape looked just as greasy as ever, though his attention was quickly snapped away from him enemy and onto the person standing next to him—a tall girl with dark brown hair, who looked rather annoyed as she rolled her eyes at the pathetic encounter.

"Aw, come on Snivellus," Sirius began with a wicked grin.

"We were just admiring the marvelous potion," finished James, who sported a matching smirk. The quiet "plop" of dropping objects was hardly noticeable over the volume of his confident voice. "Oh well, Sirius. Seems we're not welcome here."

Sirius shrugged and the two boys moved out of the way, and then sauntered over to the cabinet to grab the supplies they needed. James nudged Sirius playfully and Sirius winked before they headed back to their separate tables.

"Snape, what is that _horrid_ smell?" Emmeline angrily asked as they settled back into their stations. A few rows away, James wiggled his eyebrows at Sirius.

"How would I know?" he snapped back, "It's coming from _your_ cauldron."

James sent a sudden panicked look at Sirius, who seemed to be a little confused. His brows were furrowed in bewilderment, and upon realizing their mistake, his features softened and his mouth formed a small 'o'.

"What the—" Emmeline began, but couldn't find the right words to finish as her cauldron melted, its contents spilling all over the table she shared with Snape.

"Way to go, Vance," Snape snorted.

"Miss Vance," Slughorn's voice came from behind her, "I'm quite disappointed in you. You should have known not to add the porcupine quills until you took the cauldron off the fire," the students around them had begun to giggle, "Even my first years know that."

"But, sir," the giggles turned into full-blown laughter as Emmeline's face turned bright red, "I haven't even added them yet." She glanced around the room, noticing that nearly every student was looking and her and laughing. Her confusion suddenly cleared as her eyes settled on James Potter, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. She quickly scanned the room for Sirius Black, who, unlike James, did not look started at all; he looked rather amused.

"Oh my," said a soft voice on her right, which snapped her out of her daze. Emmeline turned her head to look at the girl next to her, and noticed that the potion had spilled over her table as well. That wasn't what the strange girl seemed to be interested in, however—as Emmeline then noticed, her eyes were much more focused on her right hand, where a small red spot began to grow into a large, irritated looking boil.

At that moment Emmeline started to feel it herself; there was a sudden flush of heat running over her arms and hands, followed by a strange bubbling as large boils began to sprout all over her exposed skin. "Potter!" screamed Emmeline, "Black!"

"Come now, Miss Vance, don't blame this on Mr. Potter and Mr. Black," Slughorn sighed, "for goodness sake, they're halfway across the room! Ten points will be taken from Gryffindor. Miss Vance, you, Mr. Snape and Miss Golding should proceed to the hospital wing immediately."

Emmeline glanced over at Snape, who looked incredibly irritated as large red boils persisted to cover his hands as well. With a huff of frustration, she gathered her books and walked out of the room. Snape followed closely, and the other girl—a Ravenclaw by the name of Ariadne Golding—stayed a few feet behind the highly agitated witch and wizard.

"Bloody Potter and Black," Emmeline grumbled. What were they thinking, pranking her like that? They got ten points taken away from their own house! What had she ever done to the two of them anyway? Sure, she never held much love towards the Marauders, but it's not like she_ hated _them either. She used to think their pranks were funny, until of course, she was the target.

"Arrogant, filthy toerags," Snape spat as he found his place beside her, "they were aiming for me, you know."

That made sense, Emmeline thought. For as long as she could remember, James and Sirius had hated Snape. Why though, she never really knew; she really only ever witnessed them making fun of his appearance—usually his greasy hair and skin.

That didn't make it okay, though. Emmeline was still outraged—how. dare. they. "Damn bloody tossers."

"Mangy pricks," added Snape.

"Arseholes," Emmeline continued.

"Gormless prats."

"Bastards."

"Smelly oafs," Snape said as he wrinkled his nose.

"Wankers," Emmeline grinned. Behind them, Ariadne Golding wondered how much longer they could throw insults at people who weren't even _there._

"Selfish twits."

"Piss heads."

"Watch your language, you two!" Madam Pomfrey hissed as they entered the hospital wing. "Good heavens, what happened to your hands?"

"Boil Cure potion gone wrong, Madam," Ariadne spoke for the first time, which seemed to remind Emmeline and Snape that they were not alone, as they both turned to look at her.

"Hurry up, then," she sighed, "Come on, Miss Vance, you first." She rushed the young witch over to one of the hospital beds and made her sit on the edge of it before she proceeded to start treating her.

Ariadne took a moment to glance around the room and saw that it was nearly empty—only one bed was occupied. A slightly shabby looking boy was sitting up in one of the hospital beds, with the blankets pulled up to his waist. He held an open book in his hands and looked exceptionally immersed in it, as if their presence hadn't affected him in the least. Ariadne wondered whether he hadn't looked up to see who had entered the room, or if he simply didn't find their presence interesting enough to continue staring. Deciding that it was probably the first, Ariadne skipped over to his bed.

"Hello Remus," she said sweetly, "you look dreadful."

Remus winced as the girl stood a polite distance away from his bed, her hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her heels. He hated it when anyone other than his three best friends saw him post-werewolf. Nevertheless, he ignored the strange feeling of having an unfamiliar voice call him by his first name and closed the book to be polite, marking his place by holding his thumb between the pages before looking up at the girl. He recognized her immediately, and though her name escaped him for a moment, he knew she was a Ravenclaw, and that she was in a fair share of his classes…"Hello, Ariadne. What brings you here?"

"Well," she unclasped her hands from behind her back and brought them up in front of her face to let him see as she inspected them herself, "I suspect James Potter and Sirius Black—"

"Come on Mr. Snape, you next," Madam Pomfrey said from a few beds away.

"—at least that's what Emmeline and Severus seem to believe," she continued, "Though the real answer would have to be a Cure for Boils potion in which the porcupine quills were added before the cauldron had been taken off the fire."

Remus took a moment to respond. Did she usually talk that much? He couldn't recall ever having a real conversation with the petite girl in front of him—sure, he had exchanged pleasantries with her every so often—yet for some unknown reason he had always assumed she didn't talk much. "I see," he said lamely. It was all he could think of in response.

They stayed there in awkward silence for a few seconds; she rocked back and forth on her heals while he turned his attention to the thumb that was still separating pages in his book. She noticed the scars on his face, the bandage on his right arm, and the darkness under his eyes—she wanted to ask him what had happened, or how he felt, but decided against it as it wasn't her place to do so. Instead, she asked, "Do you think your friends chose today to cause so much trouble because you weren't there in class to stop them?"

At this, Remus smiled; he probably would have even laughed if he hadn't felt so awful. "I think they would have done it regardless of my presence."

"Come here, Miss Golding," Madam Pomfrey interrupted, "Mr. Snape, you're free to leave. Go on now, quickly!" she waved the boy away before turning her attention to Ariadne.

Ariadne gave a soft smile before she walked, or as Remus noticed, _skipped_, towards the bed before she plopped down, chatting pleasantly to Madam Pomfrey as the healer worked on her hands.

Remus knew that he had known this girl since their first year at Hogwarts, yet he found it very strange that she had started talking to him out of the blue like that. Still, there was something oddly comforting about the way she had so easily glided up to him and began chatting as if they were friends—as if they had _been_ friends for years. He found himself trying to remember every time he had talked to her, desperately attempting to figure out which conversation, which friendly exchange had opened that door for them. He fell flat as she jumped up from the bed, looking rather pleased, and turned towards him.

"Goodbye, Remus," she waved, "I hope you feel better!"

With that she skipped out of the room, her dainty figure slowly disappearing as she continued down the long hallway. He turned his attention back to the book in his hands, opening it to the page his thumb had been resting on, when he noticed the slightly bloody bandage on his arm and realized: she hadn't even asked. He never had to lie. No conversation had opened that door; Ariadne had simply turned the knob and walked in.

* * *

**It gets more interesting later on ;)**

**For now though, any type of feedback would be greatly appreciated :3**


	3. Chapter Two

**Change My Mind**

_Her Brilliant Idea_

* * *

"Go out with me, Evans," said a very enthusiastic James Potter in the Gryffindor common room before dinner that night.

"No," said a less-than-enthusiastic Lily Evans, who didn't even bother to look up at her suitor. Instead, she continued to focus on the sixteen inches of Transfiguration homework due Monday.

"Rejected," Emmeline laughed, clearly still furious with Sirius and James over the events of the day. She was curled up on one of the room's many large scarlet armchairs, and in her lap rested a peculiar looking cat, who seemed to beg the girl to turn her attention away from her book and onto the important task of petting the cute little thing.

"Shut up, Vance," James snapped as he slumped down onto a plush couch adjacent to her. He stayed that way for only a moment before leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, and resting chin on his hands.

"Don't worry, Prongs. I'm sure she'll come around soon," Sirius attempted to comfort his dear old friend, and patted him on the back sympathetically. Peter, who was sitting on the same couch as James, nodded fervently.

"Of course she will," James grinned, all signs of disappointment vanished from his face, "I'm attractive and determined to make her say yes." Sirius laughed and Peter chimed in with phrases of reassurance. James waved his hand to hush them both before continuing, "Soon, she's going to realize that this is our last year together, and she'll want to take advantage of it before it's too late."

Lily Evans sighed in frustration and gathered her belongings before turning to smile sweetly at the three pompous arseholes of wizards. "Potter, Black, Pettigrew, could you please not talk about me as if I'm not three feet away from you?" she said, pausing a moment before she continued, "And if by "come around" you mean realize that Potter is an arrogant toerag, no worries there Black, I did a long time ago." Emmeline snorted and Lily stood to leave.

"Oh my sweet Lily," Lily cringed as James said her name, "that hurt. Right here," he placed a hand dramatically over his heart.

Emmeline rolled her eyes and Lily looked ready to murder the boy. "Come on, Emmeline. There's better company at supper." The two girls left, but much to their dismay, the three Marauders followed not far behind them the entire way. They used this to their advantage, though, and while acting as if they were ignorant to the fact that they were there, complained loudly about the arrogance of the group.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Lily and Emmeline made a point to sit in between two groups of people, as to not allow any room for the idiots that followed them. They didn't seem to mind, though, and Sirius simply winked as they walked by, which infuriated Emmeline. The Marauders found the closest empty seats available and plopped down, not sparing even one more glance towards the girls as they helped themselves to the heaps of wonderful food all around them.

Emmeline stabbed at her food angrily, alternating between taking vicious bites of her meal and sending death glares towards those _ridiculous_ Marauders. How dare they? Who did they think they were? Especially that ignorant prat, Black, always acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. She was just so _sick_ of them and their little games. She had to get back at them, somehow. She just had to. If she didn't, well, that just wasn't even an option. She had to humiliate them, just like they had humiliated her.

Just look at them, she thought. Stuffing their stupid, obnoxious faces with all that food. They're going to get fat. She snorted to herself at the thought, but her amusement at the mental image of a fat James Potter and Sirius Black faded as she realized something—they played quidditch. They wouldn't get fat; all those calories would simply be burned at the next practice. She sighed, not entirely sure whether it was out of frustration or disappointment. She couldn't help but think about how wonderful it would have been to see two of the oh-so-handsome Marauders not quite so handsome anymore.

That was when it hit her; the most _brilliant_ idea had just popped into her head. She dropped her fork—it made a small "ding" as it hit her plate—in pure amazement at how wonderfully perfect her new plan was, and, ignoring the fact that it only happened a few hours ago, wondered why in the world it had taken her this long to think of her revenge.

"Emmeline?" said Lily, sounding concerned, "are you okay?"

Emmeline smiled softly at her redheaded friend and gave her a passive wave as if to say "don't worry, I'm fine."

But Emmeline Vance was much, much better than fine. She knew the perfect way to get back at those arrogant pricks. And she knew the perfect time, too. It was lucky, really, that Halloween was only a week away, because Emmeline Vance was many things, but patient was not one of them.

Across the Great Hall, Ariadne sat with her fellow Ravenclaws as she ate the last few bites of her supper; they were just beginning to engage in a rather interesting conversation regarding the many uses of snake fangs when she finally finished. She patted her napkin against her lips as Xenophilius Lovegood, a peculiar boy with whom she was good friends with, talked about the uses of the Wideye Potion.

"It's particularly useful as an antidote to the Draught of Living Death," he began, "however it's rather tricky to brew."

"Doesn't it require wolfsbane?" Ariadne asked before taking one last sip of her pumpkin juice, "That's a rather valuable plant, is it not?"

Xenophilius nodded in confirmation. "I wonder if that's why Professor Slughorn hasn't had us try to brew it yet—you know, out of fear of wasting so much money."

"I believe that'd be more up to Professor Dumbledore," she replied softly, "although I do see your point." Xenophilius smiled and nodded in agreement before she continued, "I think I'll be heading up to the astronomy tower now, though, good night all!"

She smiled at the chorus of "good night, Ari" that met her ears before she turned to leave the Great Hall. She walked gracefully down the large hall, and once she reached the end of the tables she started skipping, only to come to a sudden halt a few meters out the door.

"Hello again, Remus," she said cheerfully, "You look much less sickly and pale than before."

Remus smiled wearily and said, "Uh, thank you Ariadne," although he was not quite sure whether it had been a compliment or not. She seemed content enough with his reply so he politely added, "Where are you headed?"

Her eyes lit up as she responded, "Oh, first I plan to go back to my room to grab a few things but then I think I'd fancy a visit to the astronomy tower!"

"Oh," he says with a small smile. For some reason he found it very hard to talk to this girl without feeling strangely unintelligent and… old. "Well, that sounds nice."

"The astronomy tower is always nice during the night,' she smiled. He couldn't figure out whether or not she was mocking him. "But I won't keep you any longer, you look rather hungry."

He frowned slightly, realizing just how hungry he was. But how exactly does one go about _looking_ hungry? Remus was pretty certain that he wasn't excessively salivating over the thought of food or anything. Before he could ask her, though—

"Good night, Remus!" she smiled pleasantly before continuing to skip down the hall. He watched her go, blinking repeatedly in slight confusion at her rather rushed exit, until she turned down a corridor and he could no longer see her. He would have stayed there, frozen in unanswered questions about the strange girl he had suddenly befriended, but his stomach made a low growl that reminded him of Sirius in the most awkward of ways; and so he headed into the Great Hall to eat. He smiled at Lily, who smiled back, as he made his way to where his three best friends were sitting, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened last night. When he sat down, they greeted him warmly and welcomed him with open arms, the way they always had.

Ariadne skipped the entire way to Ravenclaw Tower, at least up until she reached the spiral staircase, where she decided skipping would not be a very good idea. Instead, she climbed the stairs steadily, humming to herself, until she came to a door a bronze eagle shaped knocker.

"I arrive once in every second, once in every minute and once in every year. What am I?" said a very familiar voice.

Ariadne tapped her finger against her chin as she thought out the riddle. "The letter 'e'."

"Correct," the voice said, and the door to the Ravenclaw common room opened.

Her eyes were greeted with a familiar and comforting sea of blue and bronze, where very few students occupied the scattered armchairs and couches. It was quite, as it usually was; the air filled with hushed whispers, the crackling of a fire, and the sound of turning pages. Ariadne made her way to the stairs that lead to her dormitory, and on the way she smiled and nodded at all of the housemates that she passed. When she arrived in the comfort of her room, she rushed to her bed to gather a few books, a quill, and a few bits of parchment, all of which she stuffed into her bag. She hummed as she did so; thinking about nothing other than the wonderful feeling of looking up at the stars alone, unaware that at that very moment, a very confused Gryffindor boy was helplessly trying to figure her out.

* * *

**Any type of feedback is greatly appreciated :3**


	4. Chapter Three

**Change My Mind**

_An Unintentional Distraction_

* * *

"Sirius, you three are my best mates, but you're entirely distracting and I refuse to sit with you," Remus sighed as he looked around the library, which was unusually full. He guessed it must have been due to the heavy workload that seemed to come across them that week; even he was overwhelmed. Remus knew he had a lot of work to do, and if he sat with his three best friends, he would accomplish nothing.

"But Moony," Sirius whined, drawing out his friend's name, "where else will you sit?"

Remus shrugged as he searched the large room for a place to take a seat. It seemed that every table in sight was occupied by at _least_ one student. Though there were many unoccupied seats, he thought it would be strange to sit down between a few students he hadn't even talked to before. His eyes finally set on a table with a single, familiar student—Ariadne Golding. She didn't seem to mind that she was alone. She had a few books sprawled out on the table in front of her, and she appeared to be swinging her legs back and forth underneath her chair. Sitting with her wouldn't be quite so awkward, he thought. So with a goodbye to his friends, he made his way over to her table, and cautiously plopped down in the seat across from her.

"Hello, Remus," she said in her usual soft voice. The phrase was becoming all too familiar to his ears.

"Hello, Ariadne," he began, "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," she grinned, "I quite like the company, as a matter of fact. You look well, today."

Remus felt himself relax, "I feel much better."

Her eyes twinkled with happiness. "That's lovely. I can't imagine that there's very much that Madam Pomfrey can't fix, though."

He nodded, "I reckon you're right."

A comfortable silence fell upon them, and his eyes moved from hers to the table as he opened his book. Looking down at the work in front of him, he realized she had quite a few pieces of parchment spread out under her books—they were so large and plentiful that they overlapped and intertwined with each other, so intricately that he was afraid he'd rip one if he attempted to pull it out of the pile. So instead, he asked, "What are you working on?"

"Oh, I'm looking over some old astronomy notes that I expect will help me on an upcoming assessment."

So they were charts, he thought. "You're taking astronomy?" He didn't know why the thought seemed so weird to him—surely there had to be some N.E.W.T students in astronomy, but he had never really thought about it; the class didn't seem particularly useful.

"Of course," she said as if it were a silly question. Remus realized that it was. "I find it particularly interesting. Stars are quite fascinating, you know."

Remus looked at her with curiosity, and that was all she needed to continue.

"Well, a star is really nothing more than a massive luminous ball of gas. Still, people find meaning in them; as if they hold all the answers to the past, the present, even the future. They believe that what could be a totally random placement is filled with purpose: to form pictures, or constellations. It's interesting, really, that people have seen so many pictures by the stars. I'd think you'd have to have a pretty ingenious imagination to see them."

"I never thought of it that way," Remus admitted with a small smile.

"Well I'm glad I could enlighten you," she replied. There was a moment of still silence between the two, though it was soon broken by a low, rumbling growl. "Oh my," she said, then looked down at her stomach and patted it once with her left hand. "I believe I'm hungry."

Remus laughed, amused at her complete lack of embarrassment. "You should probably head down to dinner, then, before it's all gone."

"I'm afraid I must agree with you," she said, then carefully gathered her things—rolling the charts one by one—and placed them in her bag. "Good night, Remus," she smiled.

"Good night," he smiled in return and she headed out of the library, stopping to offer a very brief "hello" to a table that seated Xenophilius Lovegood and a few other Ravenclaws, before she left for good.

"Oi, Moony," Sirius called from a few tables back. Remus turned his head to see his three best friends looking at him incredulously. "What happened to no distractions?" Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, James winked, and Peter burst into laughter—earning the group a rough "Quiet!" from the librarian. Remus rolled his eyes but blushed nonetheless.

Emmeline took precious time away from her studying to glare at the rather noisy and distracting encounter. Leave it to _Black_ to disrupt and infuriate her even in the library; she was fed up with him and his complete disregard of the feelings of those around him. She found herself growing increasingly angry the more she thought about him the past few days, and her only saving grace remained to be her delicious plan for revenge. The Halloween Feast was, luckily, drawing closer and closer, and she was all-too-excited to put her genius plan in action. She hadn't let anyone in on her joke, and she didn't plan to either.

That was why she was currently sitting alone at a small table in the corner of the library. She had a few charms books spread out in front of her, and she flipped through the pages eagerly and deliberately, growing more and more excited as the details fell into place in her head. There was no way it could go wrong, she had made sure of that. She would hit their pride just as hard as they had hit hers.

She glanced back over at the table where they sat. Sirius was leaning far back in his chair, balancing it on only two legs. His knees, pressed against the underside of the table, seemed to be all that kept him stable in the current moment. James was seated next to him, his elbows resting on the table as he leaned over it, whispering to Peter with a growing grin. Peter nodded from across the table, and smiled enthusiastically, obviously utterly impressed and intrigued by whatever The Great James Potter was including him in.

Emmeline huffed in annoyance. Just a few more days, she reminded herself as she glanced back down at her books, just a few more days. Then Sirius Black and James Potter would be just as repulsive on the outside as they were on the inside. She grinned.

* * *

**I know this chapter was a little bit shorter than the rest, but I hope you liked it all the same :D Any type of feedback is welcomed and appreciated!**


	5. Chapter Four

**Change My Mind**

_Custom Gryffindor Balloons_

* * *

"Muggles do _what_ on Halloween?" Clara Applewood asked. She was sitting at a circular table in the common room with a handful of fellow Ravenclaws just before the Halloween Feast.

Ariadne was sitting closest to the wall, quietly flipping through a book whilst listening to them talk about the holiday.

"The children dress in costumes," Narissa Roseed said, "and then go house to house, knocking on the doors, and collecting candy."

"What do they put the candy in?" Xenophilius asked.

"Pillow cases," Narissa replied.

Clara laughed. "Pillow cases? How strange. Muggles are fascinating."

Everyone sat quietly for a moment. "They get pillowcases full candy? Why don't _we_ get that much candy?" Edmus Leringer whined.

"We get the Halloween Feast," Ariadne said simply. She hadn't turned her eyes away from her book, but her friends knew she was paying attention.

Edmus sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"Did you ever participate in this "Trick Or Treat" tradition, Ari?" Xenophilius asked, ignoring Edmus's usual whining.

"Oh yes," she said airily, "I was a rat once."

"A _rat_?" Edmus asked in disbelief. Surely muggles weren't_ so_ strange as to dress as such vile creatures.

"Yes," she said, "an orange one."

"Why?" Edmus asked as Clara giggled.

"I'm rather partial to orange," Ariadne said simply.

"No," he sighed, "why a _rat_?"

"Rats are horribly under-loved creatures," she said.

Edmus was still rather confused, but reasoned that this was _Ari_ he was talking to, and with Ari, he was always confused. Deciding that he would not dwell on it, he joined in the laughter of his friends, who were undoubtedly amused with Ari's usually bizarre mind.

"It's almost time for the feast," Clara said, "we should head down." She stood up and motioned for her classmates to follow. They did, and despite Edmus's complaints of the far distance they were about to walk, they headed towards the Great Hall for a meal they had long been looking forward to.

They arrived just outside the Great Hall at the same time the Marauders were about to walk in. Remus was laughing with Sirius, though upon seeing Ariadne out of the corner of his eye, he stopped briefly to turn and wave at her, a large smile on his face. She took notice of him immediately, returned his waved and smiled. Content with the exchange, Remus turned back around to follow his friends to the Gryffindor table, a few Gryffindor girls close at his heel.

The Great Hall, was, as usual, decorated in a way that awed the first years and pleasantly rose above everyone else's expectations and trumped their memories of previous years. Several extremely large, beautifully carved pumpkins floated above them. Orange streamers hung elegantly all over, and the usual live bats roamed the hall. Then there were the sweets, magnificent quantities of all things sugar. Well, Edmus thought as he sat down, it might not be a pillowcase full, but it was something just as wonderful.

Even Emmeline Vance was impressed with the lavish decorations. The Halloween Feast had always been one of her favorite events, and due to her flawless plan, she knew this one would be the best. She headed towards the Gryffindor table with Lily who grunted when Emmeline made sure to sit closer to the Marauders than usual. If her plan was to work, she would need to have an unobstructed path between her and her unsuspecting prey. Luckily, her two handsome targets were both sitting on the left side of the table; so naturally, she sat on the right, only a few seats down. Perfect, she thought.

As Lily struck up a conversation, Emmeline smiled pleasantly, trying her best to keep calm. It wasn't easy; she could feel excited shivers run through her spine as the feast officially began, and although she allowed herself to indulge before putting her plan into action, she found it hard to eat as much as she usually would—she was too nervous, too eager. It was as if there was a small countdown in her head; its numbers were slowly pealing back, building up her anticipation. She started bouncing her leg so quickly that the movement shook the table, earning her a dirty look from a boy a few seats down. Emmeline, being the mature woman she was, stuck her tongue out at him, but ceased the bouncing. Tick, tick, tick, the numbers continued to decrease. She went over the spell in her head, repeating it to herself the same way she would if she was about to take a test. It seemed to be a rather silly thing to fret over though—she had learned the spell so many years ago, and she had used it so many times since—but she needed that passing grade.

Finally, the numbers hit that glorious zero. Slowly and inconspicuously, she pulled her wand out under the table. She silently thanked her professors for insisting that the students became proficient in nonverbal spell casting, and pointed it towards the two boys on whom she had sworn revenge. All it would take was two flicks of her wand, and her revenge would be complete. One, two, she flicked her wand, and quickly hid it back amongst her robes. Gradually, masking all signs of excitement, she turned her attention to James and Sirius.

To her sheer delight, she could see the spell had already begun to work. They hadn't yet noticed it themselves, and it wasn't until a few long seconds later, when James—talking animatedly about something Emmeline couldn't make out over the pounding of her heart—began waving his fork pointedly at Remus, that they finally did. Confusion spread over James's features, and the other Marauders stared at him blankly, blinking as if it were just their eyes playing tricks on them. The four were extremely quiet until Sirius raised his hand to touch James's, and realized that he, too, was affected.

Remus and Peter quickly checked over themselves, relief flooding through them as they realized that it was only James and Sirius who had suddenly begun to _grow_. It was as if they were being inflated; it affected their hands first—which were now swollen into uselessness—and continued all through their bodies. It wasn't only the Marauders that were quiet now, rather it was the whole table; every single Gryffindor, and probably a few others as well, were watching their beloved pranksters, completely awestruck. The boys' normally lean stomachs began to bulge, then grow, and soon the pair were nothing more than giant balls with limbs. That was when they started to float.

"What the hell!" Sirius finally exclaimed as he was lifted from his seat, and suddenly everyone at the feast turned their attention him and James. A few people began to laugh, amused at the two pranksters that were suddenly floating up, up, up towards the enchanted ceiling—it wasn't until they hit it, miraculously dodging the floating pumpkins and bats, and began to _bounce_, that everyone roared within laughter. Emmeline grinned wildly and swelled with pride as everyone around her continued to laugh and joke about the two large balls of air that floated and bounced all along the Great Hall.

"Hey Sirius," James laughed, "I think we're almost the size of these pumpkins!"

Even Lily was laughing from across the table, though she sent a rather pointed and suggestive look at Emmeline as if to ask whether or not she was responsible. Emmeline merely shrugged, then took a moment to glance up at the professors. To her surprise, all of them looked either amused or startled, maybe even a mixture of the two. Even Dumbledore seemed to be smiling, and there was a familiar and unmistakable twinkle in his eye.

"Oi, Sirius," James grinned as he yet again bounced against the ceiling, "look at us! We're like two custom made Gryffindor balloons!"

Laughter again rang through the Great Hall, James the loudest of them all. Sirius Black scowled and turned red as his stomach collided with one of the pumpkins. All he could think was how much he would love to smash that pumpkin, but sadly his arms had been rendered useless.

"This is bloody brilliant," Emmeline heard someone say. The compliment inflated her ego so much, in fact, it was roughly the size of two Gryffindor balloons.

"I wonder if they did it to themselves, as a joke," another voice replied.

Emmeline grinned. No one, save for Lily, even suspected her. She was fine with letting everyone believe James and Sirius did it to themselves—she wouldn't get in trouble that way. But oh, she would make sure _they_ knew it was her; she would make sure they never humiliated her again.

She glanced back up at the bouncing idiots and laughed. James, despite being fat and smashing repeatedly against the ceiling, seemed to be enjoying himself quite a lot. He was grinning, as he always seemed to be, and was attempting to spread out his arms and legs as if he were flying or swimming through the air. Emmeline was oddly undisturbed by this, because as she looked at Sirius, she realized how utterly peeved and humiliated he was. Getting under the skin of Sirius Black alone was revenge enough for her.

"Oi, Evans!" James yelled, his grin never faltering. Suddenly heads snapped away from James and Sirius and onto Lily instead, who looked sick, as if she knew exactly what was about to happen. "Go out with me?"

The students burst into laughter again, though Lily Evans was anything but amused. Her face turned bright red in embarrassment and she screeched, "NO!"

But James was unaffected by her rejection. No, James Potter was a large ball of air and confidence that continued to laugh as if he didn't have a care in the world.

* * *

**As usual, any time of feedback is welcomed and appreciated ;)**


	6. Chapter Five

**Change My Mind**

_The Alleged Crime_

* * *

The portrait swung open and Lily made her way into the common room with Dorcas Meadowes following not far behind. Lily clenched her jaw as her eyes glanced over James Potter; he was sprawled out on a couch in front of the fireplace, his back against the armrest and his legs stretched out in front of him. Sirius, who was sitting with his elbows on his knees, held his head in his hands as he stared blankly into the fire.

"Potter?" Lily politely requested his attention.

"Evans! Changed your mind, have you?" James said hopefully, jolting upright from his seat and running a hand through his messy hair.

"No," she sighed. "Where's Remus?"

James slouched back into the couch. "In the dormitory, I reckon."

"Then would you mind relaying a message to him when he comes down?"

James, still slightly disappointed, glanced her way, giving her the okay to continue.

"Tell him I still haven't finished my charms essay, and I'd appreciate it if he'd take my place doing patrol with you tonight."

James nodded, clearly buying the lame excuse Lily had thought up during the walk back to the common room. She was thankful for this, though, as she wasn't sure if she could handle being with James tonight. With Dorcas by her side, she climbed the stairs to their dormitory, chatting quietly all the way. When they disappeared from his sight, Sirius comforted his friend.

"She'll come around," Sirius said.

"You say that every time," James challenged.

"I'd be a bad friend if I didn't," Sirius said, "and besides, it's as true now as it was five years ago."

Silence fell upon them in the most comfortable of ways. Sirius, squashed between James's feet and the armrest of the couch, turned his attention back to the fire, disheartened by his earlier humiliation. He didn't know who had done it to them, or why, but he sure as hell wasn't very happy about it. He was so far lost in his own pride that he didn't hear the portrait swing open once more, nor did he hear the intruder's footsteps.

Emmeline made her way, alone, into the common room. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the boys sitting in front of the fireplace; first James, who looked quite dismantled, which she concluded, was an aftereffect of Lily's rejection, and then Sirius. The light danced across his pale face, casting dark shadows on the side of his nose and under his eyes. His expression held a certain grimness that told her the plan for revenge had definitely worked.

"Hey Potter," Emmeline grinned as she walked into the common room, "Hey Black. You two look pretty _deflated_."

Sirius lifted his eyes to her and glared. "Clever."

"He's still a bit peeved," James said carelessly as he flipped through the pages of what Emmeline assumed was a Quidditch magazine.

Her grin only grew wider. "That's understandable," she said as she plopped down on an armchair near the boys. They were all silent for a few moments as she opened her book, pulling her legs up onto the chair and settling in. "I would be pretty peeved too, if _I_ had been bouncing around the Great Hall like that." She winked, causing Sirius's glare to harden.

"_I _thought it was fun," James grinned. "Although the professors seem to think we did it to ourselves, so we've got a month's worth of detention."

Well, at least they were getting what they deserved. "Judging by how _embarrassed_ Sirius is, I'd say you didn't do it yourselves. I'd say that someone much, _much_ smarter thought of it." Emmeline was clearly enjoying herself, although it seemed to escape the attention of the two brilliant wizards next to her.

Sirius snorted. "I'm not embarrassed, Vance." She shot him a doubtful look, so he continued, "I'm just trying to figure out who came up with the pathetic idea. And more importantly, how to torture them for their disrespect." James grinned, and Emmeline rolled her eyes.

"Well let's think," Emmeline suggested, "who could possibly hold a grudge against you?"

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows and James looked deep in thought. "Snivellus!" James offered. Emmeline sighed; could they really be that clueless?

"Of course," she paused, "Snape _must _have snuck all the way over to the Gryffindor table just to place a simple engorgement charm on his enemies. Because that's _so_ much more effective than any potion he could brew, given his talent."

Sirius narrowed his eyes, and Emmeline could have sworn she could see the wheels in his head turning. "How did you know it was the engorgement charm?" His words were cautious and slow.

Emmeline stared at him in mock offense, "What are you suggesting, Mr. Black?"

Sirius jumped up, "It was_ you _who hexed us!" His lean frame towered over her, blocking all light from the fire. His eyes burned into hers, anticipating her reply.

"_Engorgio_ is a charm, Black," Emmeline said sweetly, "not a hex."

"Prongs, are you listening to this?" Sirius glanced over at his lazy friend. "It was _her_!"

"_Allegedly_," Emmeline said slyly, eyes widened innocently.

"Sirius," James said, "Why on earth would she inflate us?"

Sirius turned back towards Emmeline, looking as if he was thinking hard. "Why _did_ you do it?"

"Black!" Emmeline exclaimed, her hand slapped to her heart in wounded disbelief, "I would never inflate the two of you!" There was a short pause before she added, "But if I were you, I'd think twice before prematurely slipping porcupine quills into someone else's cauldron."

James's eyes widen comically. "I forgot that was you!" He really had. To James, the prank had been just that—a prank. He remembered slipping the quills into the wrong cauldron, but in the end the prank had hit the person it was intended for, and that was all that had mattered to him. Then he burst out laughing. So hard, in fact, that both Sirius and Emmeline stared at him in amazement until he finally calmed down. "You did that to get back at us for the boils? That's bloody brilliant!"

"No it's not!" Sirius said quickly, although he had to admit, it _was _a pretty genius idea: simple but _very_ effective.

"I think you two are forgetting, I never claimed to have done it," Emmeline sighed.

"Cut the crap, Vance," Sirius spat, "You inflated us to the size of those giant pumpkins."

"_Allegedly_," Emmeline claimed.

"_Allegedly_," Sirius mocked. His attention briefly turned to Remus and Peter, who were descending the stairs that led to the boy's dormitory. "Hey Remus!"

Remus's eyes snapped over to his friends.

"Lily was looking for you," James said right before Sirius interrupted:

"You'll never guess who was behind my and James's little adventure earlier!"

Remus cocked an eyebrow to humor Sirius. "Who?"

"She wanted to know if you could—" James was soon cut off again.

"Emmeline Vance!" Sirius said, pointing a finger in her direction and dragging out her first name.

"Allegedly," she said. "And did you know that when you point fingers at someone, there are more fingers pointing back to you?"

Remus was actually surprised. "Really Emmeline? I actually never would've guessed it was you. Why'd you do it?"

"Lily wants you to do patrol with me tonight because she hasn't finished her homework or something." James said loudly and quickly, knowing Sirius wouldn't allow him anymore time. And he was right.

"Sure," the tone in Remus's voice suggested he still had more to say, but Sirius cut him off almost immediately.

"She did it just because James and I spilled _a little bit of potion_ and caused her pretty little hands to erupt in boils!" Sirius paused before adding, "A _week_ ago!"

Remus, dropping the issue of patrol for the time being, immediately recalled the day he had officially met Ariadne, and she had briefed him on the prank. Then he laughed, amusement shining through his grey eyes. Peter looked like he wanted to laugh as well, but, catching sight of Sirius's sour expression, he thought better of it. Instead, he stood there, failing miserably at concealing his large, goofy grin.

"Remus, stop laughing!" Sirius snapped, "It's not funny!"

"Yes it is, Sirius," Remus smiled, "You finally got a taste of your own medicine."

Sirius glared at him. "Shut up, Remus."

Remus's smile didn't falter. "Did you even apologize to Emmeline for what you two did to her?"

"She didn't apologize to us! And she did it on purpose!" Sirius exclaimed.

"You hurt her first," Remus shrugged, "perhaps Emmeline wouldn't have felt the need to get payback if you had apologized."

Sirius crossed his arms. "I won't apologize to her until she apologizes to me."

Emmeline crossed her arms as well and snorted. "Fat chance."

Remus sighed in defeat. "I still say this could have been avoided if you had taken responsibility for your actions and just apologized."

"Oh sod off, Remus. You're just as bad as I am and you know it," Sirius snarled.

Remus shot his friend a look before making his way out of the common room. Screw patrol with James, Remus thought, he would do it on his own. Remus realized that the prank had wounded Sirius's pride, but his sympathy was somewhat diminished by Sirius's irritability.

Remus walked quickly through the corridors, staring blankly ahead of him as he made routine check-ups in certain hallways and rooms. His mind was too preoccupied, however, to really notice anything out of place. No matter how much Remus wished it wasn't true, he knew Sirius had been right. He _was_ just as bad as Sirius, maybe even worse. Sure, he hadn't been nearly as mean to Snape as James and Sirius had, but he hadn't tried to stop it either, and he never even tried to apologize. He wouldn't be surprised if one day Snape retaliated with worse than a mere engorgement charm. He would deserve it, after all. Snape was really only just one example, too. What about all the other times their pranks had somehow harmed someone? Remus was pretty sure none of them had apologized back then either. He really was awful.

Remus sighed, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, trying his best to clear his mind. The sound of footsteps roused him from his thoughts, and Remus straightened, blinking. He spotted a familiar, pale girl on the staircase across from him. "Ariadne?" He asked.

Her head turned towards him slowly, as if she was unaffected by his presence. "Oh, hello Remus."

"Hello," he said, making his way towards the staircase. He stopped, standing a polite distance away, and waited for her response.

"You look glum," she said, her voice delicately laced with concern.

He shrugged. "What are you doing out this late?"

"It's Thursday," she said simply, "I always go to the astronomy tower on Thursday."

"Oh," he furrowed his brows in confusion. Had she never got into trouble for it? Surely, she had to have been caught before.

She cocked a brow in amusement. "I suppose I should prepare myself for detention, given I'm out of bed after hours." She was teasing him. If it were anyone else, he would have been slightly frustrated; yet for whatever reason, he felt a smile play on his lips.

He laughed and shook his head. "I won't tell."

"In that case, you can join me," she said, "if you'd like."

Remus knew, since he still had prefect duties, that he shouldn't go; but the line between what he should do and what he wanted to do was still as blurry as it was when he walked out of the common room, so he followed her. She led him with a free leash as they walked quietly through the dark corridors, Remus always one step behind her. Not a single word was exchanged, but it was comfortable; Remus always did enjoy having someone to share the silence with. Not all silence needed to be filled, and Ariadne seemed to understand that.

As his foot set on the first step of the Astronomy Tower, Remus snapped his attention back to his surroundings, realizing that he had been lost in his own thoughts the entire way. With Ariadne still leading him, they made their way up the winding stairs. Finally reaching the top, a rush of cool, crisp air filled Remus's lungs. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, welcoming the air and holding it captive for a few seconds before releasing, and opening his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Ariadne herself. She was standing on the far end of the tower in front of a telescope, playing with the focusing lenses. As she turned the lenses, he noticed how thin her wrists were, how it looked like they could snap under the slightest amount of pressure. The sudden realization of how frail and delicate she seemed startled him. Her shoulders were slender, but for the most part, hidden, by the unruly waves of her hair. The rest of her petite frame was hidden beneath heavy robes. It was weird to him, to think that he had seen the very girl in front of him almost every day for seven years, yet he had never really _looked_ at her.

She glanced back at him for a moment, casting him a quick smile before she turned her attention back to the telescope, pressing her eye to the lens. He walked over and joined her, looking up at the sky.

"Why Thursdays?" He asked.

"I like Thursdays."

Remus felt his lips twitch into a small smile. He didn't know how or why, but she managed to somehow amuse_ and_ frustrate him all at the same time. Remus liked structure, order, and reason; he couldn't wrap his head around the idea of doing something simply because. Yet her simple, blunt answers and remarks intrigued him.

"You look considerably happier," she said, her eyes focused on his for the first time since she had greeted him.

He broke eye contact and looked back up to the sky. "I just needed some time away. My friends are great," he started, "but sometimes they can be a lot to handle."

"I'd say everyone needs some alone time every now and then," she said, "but I reckon it's hard for you to come by when your friends are always the center of attention, say for example, floating around the Great Hall."

Remus laughed. "I suppose it would be stupid to say 'oh you saw that, did you?'"

She smiled. "Yes, it would," Remus raised an eyebrow, "but I'll humor you. I found their little prank quite entertaining, as I'm fairly sure the rest of the school did."

"They didn't do it," Remus said, "someone else did, to get back at them for one of their pranks that she fell victim to. The same prank that hit you, actually."

"I didn't find the boils too painful," she said, looking down at her hands.

Of course she didn't, Remus thought. She didn't seem the type to pay attention to things like that anyway. She didn't seem the type to pay any mind to anything, really. In the past week, if Remus had learned nothing else about Ariadne, he learned that she was oddly distant most of the time.

She turned her attention away from the telescope and walked over to the railing, resting her arms on the top of the bar and resting her weight on it. The moonlight illuminated her pale face as she searched the heavens, for what Remus did not know. He walked over to her and placed his hands on the rail, keeping his arms lengthened and stiff and his body an arm's length away.

"The first constellation I was taught was the Big Dipper," she said softly. "My grandfather said it was the easiest to spot."

"It is. Most of the constellations are really hard to see," he replied, remembering his first attempt at finding some of the more complicated constellations.

Ariadne nodded. "It gets easier. I can find most of them rather easily."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Remus held back a smile. "Orion," he said, naming the first constellation that came to mind.

"There," she pointed to the sky and traced the outline of the constellation.

"I gave you an easy one on purpose," he smiled, which she returned immediately.

"Then by all means, give me a harder one."

"Scorpius," he named.

She walked around the tower, settling a few feet away, where she again pointed her finger to the sky. "There."

Remus walked over to her, and although he couldn't tell where she was pointing, he names another one. "Lupus."

"Right next to it," she said, and again outlined it for him.

So he named off another. And another. And another. Each time, Ariadne took a moment to walk around the tower, then traced the pattern he had named. Some of them he could see, some of them he couldn't, but she always did.

"Pisces," he said, and instead of walking around the tower, she looked at him.

"I never could find Pisces," she admitted. She rested her arms on the rail in front of her, searching the sky for one last constellation as Remus settled beside her.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said.

She nodded once, slowly, but kept her eyes on the sky as once more, the image of the Big Dipper unfolded before her. She connected the dots with her eyes; three stars for the handle, four for the base. All these years and it was still the first and last constellation she looked for each night.

"I think it's time to go back," she said, turning her attention to Remus.

He looked at her, her pale face distant. "I think you're right."

They descended the stairs and made their way back through the corridors. Instead of letting Ariadne lead though, Remus kept his place beside her. They walked quietly, careful as to not get caught—although Remus doubted whether she would truly care if they did—until they reach their point of separation. Ariadne bid him goodnight softly before she turned down a corridor and disappeared from sight. Remus continued on his own, the sudden loneliness biting at him, until he finally reached the Fat Lady.

Hours had passed since Remus had been in the Gryffindor common room, and his encounter with Sirius had been long forgotten. That was, until he walked back through the portrait hole and was greeted by a very sleepy looking Sirius, sprawled out on a couch in front of the fire.

"Remus," Sirius said, his tired eyes meeting Remus's, "I'm sorry."

"I know," Remus said. Sirius stood, and together, they climbed the stairs to the dormitory they shared. Remus knew he had forgiven Sirius hours ago; he never was very good at holding a grudge. In the end, Remus would always forgive.

* * *

**Oh my gosh I'm awful, and I am so sorry. I had this written a few weeks ago and just didn't have the time to get around to editing it. I hope that those of you who actually read this haven't given up on me, and I promise to try to get the chapters out sooner from now on. Please forgive me though, between school and work I just don't have very much time.  
****I hope ya'll enjoyed this one, there's still A LOT to come. I know this chapter was REALLY long, and I hope you think it's a good thing because they're all probably going to be about this long from now on :) I have so much planned for this story. By the way, what do you guys think of Ari?  
I'd also like to thank my two first reviewers for being completely wonderful. It honestly made my day to see that I even had reviews!  
As usual, any feedback is welcomed and appreciated, and again, I sincerely apologize for the late update. Please stay with me! :)**


	7. Chapter Six

**Change My Mind**

_The Teasing Begins_

* * *

"Look who finally decided to join us," Mary MacDonald said as Emmeline and Lily made their way to the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Across from Mary, Dorcas Meadowes cocked a brow as her eyes settled on Emmeline—or rather, Emmeline's _hair_—and she let out a small giggle.

"Good morning to you too, Mary," Lily said sweetly, taking her seat next to Mary.

Emmeline rolled her eyes and stretched her arms out above her, letting out a yawn before she relaxed her muscles and her arms dropped to her side. She swung her legs over the bench and sat down, resting her elbows on the table. As she began piling food onto her plate, Mary stared at her incredulously, obviously not pleased with her friend's actions. Emmeline didn't seem to care, though, as she proceeded to take bites out of a strip of bacon or a piece of toast, and stuffed her mouth to full capacity.

"Em," Mary said, "_What_ did you do to your hair?"

"Nothing," Emmeline said, pulling her dark hair over her right shoulder.

"Which is exactly the point," Mary said disapprovingly, "You didn't even brush it, did you? It looks like an owl decided to use your hair as its nest and then decided it wasn't comfortable enough, shit on it, and flew away."

Dorcas looked appalled. "Thanks for the visual, Mary." In actuality, she didn't think Emmeline's hair looked that bad—definitely not _good_, but not entirely awful either.

"I try my best," Mary shrugged.

"Shut it, Mary," Emmeline said, "I'll take care of it." She turned her head to the side and ran her fingers through her hair quickly and harshly, snapping out all of the tangles in the process. The sound made Mary cringe, but she stayed silent. After detangling and smoothing her hair down, Emmeline flipped it back over her should and said, "There, better?"

"I suppose," Mary said unconvincingly, "you could have just used magic, though."

Emmeline shrugged. "Guess I'm lazy."

Mary didn't understand how or why Emmeline thought using magic was the more difficult route, but she let the issue drop and took a bite of her breakfast.

"Hey Lily," Dorcas said, rummaging through her backpack until she produced a rather tattered book, "I finished Romeo and Juliet last night, thanks for letting me borrow it." She pushed the book across the table until it settled in front of Lily.

"No problem," Lily said as she picked up the book and placed it in her own bag. "Did you like it?"

"I adored it," Dorcas said. "Star-crossed lovers who try to be together against all odds? Definitely the best kind of love story."

Mary spit out her water. "You're kidding me, right? They_ died_!"

"They died for their love! And it was an accident!" Dorcas defended.

Mary sighed, "Of course, a stupid accident that could have been prevented if either of them had any brains. I mean really, 'oh society says we can't be together and instead of fighting it let's just act like idiots!' Besides, it's not much of a love story when everyone dies, is it? I mean, there's Lancelot and Guinevere, Thisbe and Pyramus, the list goes on: just because everyone dies doesn't mean it's a tragic love story; in fact, I'd say it's more of a sorry excuse for a tragedy." Mary paused to compose herself before she sighed and added, "Remind me to get you to read some better love stories."

"Like what?" Dorcas asked hesitantly. Although there were many things in which she and Mary typically agreed upon, literature was not usually one of them.

"Pride and Prejudice," Mary said.

"Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy," Lily said, "definitely a good love story. Classic case of misunderstanding, and he was willing to do so much to show her how much he cared for her. You know, it's probably my favorite love story."

"The line between love and hate really is thin," Mary sighed dramatically, resting her head in her palm. "Though I think my favorite love story is Perseus and Andromeda."

A loud, masculine laugh rang through the hall. The girls all turned their heads and immediately noticed that the Marauders had entered the great hall. A grinning Sirius slung his arm around James's shoulders as they walked towards the table, both seeming to thoroughly enjoy whatever conversation was taking place. Remus and Peter trailed behind their friends—Peter looking somewhat out of breath, as if he had been running to keep up.

Lily, who was determined to avoid eye contact—and any other type of contact, really—with James, turned back to Mary. "That's a good one," she said, "Damsel in distress rescued by a god with winged sandals, how could it be better?"

Mary laughed, but her attention was promptly captured by the group of boys who settled into the seats next to them. "What do you think, Sirius?" She asked without thinking. "What's the best kind of love story?"

Sirius, who had begun staring at Emmeline since the moment he sat down, stayed silent. Emmeline stared back at him uncomfortably, wondering what he was playing at. His handsome face was almost void of emotion, though his eyebrows were furrowed slightly and his jaw was set—as if he was thinking hard about something, which, if Emmeline was not mistaken, somehow included her.

Mary glanced at Lily, who rolled her eyes, and then at Dorcas—who was seated between Sirius and Emmeline and looked exceptionally uncomfortable. Mary found no explanation of their curious situation from Emmeline, so slowly, she turned her attention to James. "Okay, James, what do you think?"

James considered the question for a moment. His eyes narrowed as he thought, as if he was trying to retrieve information that was not quite there. Suddenly they softened, as if he had finally been enlightened with the meaning of life, and his gaze locked on Lily: "Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I like the idea of how hate can turn into love, given that you really care about the other. All he needed was a little persistence."

Mary grinned at Lily suggestively, earning her a death glare from the girl, who seemed to be attempting to hide her blushing face behind her fiery hair, although failing miserably. No one noticed the silence that fell over them until Dorcas finally broke it.

"Okay, Sirius, you're making me uncomfortable. Why are you staring at Em like that?" she asked, clearly annoyed.

Sirius looked at Dorcas, then sat up straight and proper. "I'd like to ask you all to please keep your wands on the table at all times during meals. We wouldn't want any type of suspicious hexing during breakfast, now would we?" His voice was deep and calm, as if he were addressing a group of adults he didn't know or running a business meeting.

Emmeline rolled her eyes, the reason behind his dramatics suddenly clear to her. Choosing to ignore his request, she went back to picking at her food, and waited for the silence to lift. It didn't. Instead, Emmeline found herself looking back up at Sirius as he cleared his throat. "What?"

"Emmeline, if you would please put your wand on the table, we could all enjoy a nice worry-free meal," Sirius said in the same business-like tone.

"Are you serious?" Emmeline asked incredulously. She looked around to see that everyone else—despite looking confused—had their wands laid out on the table beside their plates. Only Mary seemed to be giving hers up hesitantly, and with good reason, Emmeline thought. How did they know that this wasn't step one in the Marauder's newest prank blueprint?

"I've been Sirius since the day I was born. Your wand please," he insisted, gesturing to any empty space on the table.

"For Merlin's sake," Emmeline said exasperatedly before withdrawing her wand from her robes and placing it on the table. "There," she said, "Are you happy now?"

"Extremely," Sirius's solemn expression suddenly broke into a wild grin, and he reached over the table to pile some bacon onto his plate.

"Sirius," Mary winced, "can't you be civil and use a fork?"

"No darling," Sirius said as he again dug his hands into the bacon, "this is the Sirius way. Real men eat with their hands. Germs can't touch us."

"Well germs _can_ touch the rest of us," Mary said, reaching for the plate and pulling it out of his reach. "So have a little courtesy, would you?"

Sirius childishly stuck his tongue out and Mary rolled her eyes, silently admitting defeat. Sirius Black was nothing if not idiotically stubborn.

"Now that that's all settled," Dorcas said slowly, "We best be heading to class."

"It's only eight thirty," Peter said.

"Not even Remus drags us to class that early," James added.

"Well Remus has probably finished all of his homework and doesn't need to ask his professor for help," Dorcas said, "you all should learn from him."

Lily finished chewing her last bit of food and pushed her plate away, then stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. Dorcas joined her, followed by Mary and Emmeline. Together, they gave the boys a quick goodbye before they all hurried down the Great Hall and disappeared from sight.

"So James," Sirius said with a wink, "Never knew you spend your spare time reading love stories."

James grinned, "Every day, mate."

"Well it sure got a reaction out of Lily, if that's what you were going for," Remus said before taking a sip of his water.

"Speaking of love interests," Sirius said as he turned to Remus, "What's up with you and the blonde?"

"Excuse me?" Remus choked. Thrown into a coughing fit, he immediately reached for a napkin to cover his mouth. It muffled the sound but didn't really help him breathe, and before he had the chance to catch his breath, the conversation continued.

"I think her name is Ariadne," Peter offered.

"Ariadne is _not_ a love interest," Remus coughed out a little too quickly, his eyes watering slightly from his near-death experience.

James and Sirius exchanged a glance, and then both broke out in sly smirks.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, mate," James said.

"You're right," Remus concurred, "because there's nothing going on."

"All I'm saying is," Sirius said, "you've been spending a lot of time with her."

Remus considered this. He hadn't been spending _that_ much time with her, had he? Then again, wasn't it normal to spend time with people who were your friends? At this point, he definitely felt as if her friendship was growing on him quickly—but that was all they were. Friends. She had a way of making him feel better when he was upset, the same way that Sirius, James, and Peter always made him feel better.

"Talking in the hallways," Sirius said, pulling Remus away from his thoughts. Sirius was holding one finger up, as if he was counting.

"The day in the library," Peter added. Sirius raised another finger and mouthed "two".

"Last night at the astronomy tower," James said, earning a confused glance from each of his friends.

"I never told you where I went last night," Remus said, his eyes narrowed.

"The map never lies," James shrugged. Of course, Remus thought, the map. He never thought he'd see the day where he'd regret ever making it. Sure, it was a useful tool when planning their pranks, however, it did provide for a lack of privacy between him and his friends.

"Moony," Sirius said, leaning forward on his elbows as another wild grin played on his face, "You went to the astronomy tower with a _girl_ last night?"

Remus shook his head, "It's not like that, Sirius." Just friends, Remus thought. She had comforted him in a time when he needed it; as friends do.

"You were up there for quite a while," Sirius continued, ignoring his friend's unspoken plea to drop it.

"Was Moony up snogging all night?" James grinned.

"No," Remus said. "Ariadne is my friend. In the same way Mary and Lily and Dorcas and Emmeline are my friends," he paused. "Ariadne is my friend." It was getting hard for him to think, he noticed. His thoughts were spinning, coming and going so rapidly he could barely hold onto them. He rubbed his temples lightly, lowering his eyes to the table.

"Your friend that you snog," Peter clarified. James laughed.

"No," Remus sighed in exasperation. "Just my friend." Remus had never even thought about her being more than a friend to him, but now that the idea was proposed, he couldn't seem to let it go. In a way, it angered him that his friends would place this burden on him. They knew how he felt about his… furry little problem… so why would they do this to him? But Remus knew they weren't trying to get his head spinning. They were just being themselves; teasing him, trying to make him laugh—make him feel better—just as they always had. He couldn't blame them for that, and he didn't want to.

"Whatever you say, Remus," Sirius said, still grinning.

"Anyway, Moony," James said between bites of his breakfast, "have you finished the charms report?"

Shit, Remus thought. "No," he sighed, "I'll have to get started on that tonight."

James's mouth fell wide open, revealing a pile of mushed food which equally amused and repulsed his friends.

"Mate," Sirius said after James's mouth refused to close, "We are not baby birds waiting to be fed from your mouth."

Peter laughed and Remus grinned as James immediately snapped his jaw shut. He took a few seconds to finishing chewing, and swallowed his birdfeed before speaking. "Moony never waits until the last minute to do his homework!"

"That is very true, Prongs," Sirius said, "what's up with that, Moony?"

Remus shrugged. "I guess I just forgot."

James, Peter, and Sirius exchanged looks. "Forgot?" James asked, as if he needed clarification.

"Yes, Prongs," Remus said, "it's the past tense form of _forget_, which means to not remember—"

"I know what it means, Moony."

"I think I know what's going on here," Sirius said with a grin. "Moony's _so_ busy snogging his new girlfriend and experiencing the wonderful world of women that it slipped his mind."

Peter laughed, "Wonderful world of women, Padfoot?"

Sirius nodded, leaned towards Remus and continued, "It's okay Remus, we're here for you. That strange 'happy' feeling that you get when you snog her is perfectly natural—"

James burst into a fit of laughter and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me you're not trying to give me the talk," Remus said. Though his tone implied frustration, an amused grin had spread across his face and hadn't left.

"Moony, there comes a time in every young man's life when he has to be given the talk," Sirius said, "yours is now."

"I don't know," Remus said, "I'm not sure how comfortable I am getting the talk from someone who knows nothing of the subject."

Peter broke into some strange mixture of laughter and snorting while James, clutching his stomach in a fit of laughter, nearly fell off his laughed so hard that his glasses flew off, landing on the ground underneath the table.

"Sod off, Remus," Sirius snapped, though with grin that assured his friends that all was well.

"Hey," James said, "I lost my glasses."

"Merlin, Prongs, how did you do that?" Sirius asked as he stood to help James look.

"It's your fault," James whined, "if you hadn't tried to give Moony the talk before he was ready I wouldn't have laughed so hard they fell off."

Remus smiled as his friends bickered, but his gaze wandered over to the Ravenclaw table, where his eyes rested on the girl who had continued to sneak her way into his thoughts. She was kind, and gentle, Remus thought, but they would never be more than friends. He had vowed to himself a long time ago that he would never put someone he cared about in danger like that—sure, it would mean a lonely life for him, but at least this way, only one person would get hurt.

Ariadne must have felt his stare, though, for she turned her head to look at him. Their eyes met, and she smiled warmly. Immediately and unintentionally, he felt himself return the gesture. She slowly turned back to her friends, but his eyes remained on her until Sirius interrupted.

"Snog snog snog snog snoggedy snog," Sirius sang, knowing exactly where Remus's attention had gone. "Come on Moony, time to go to class. You have plenty of time to snog later."

Remus felt his face heat up, though his blush was not quite visible. He looked back at his friends, who were already standing, waiting for him with wide grins plastered on their faces. Remus stood up to join his friends, taking a dramatic, deep breath before replying, "I don't know, Sirius. I'm feeling pretty happy right now, what does that mean?"

His friends barked in laughter, and together, they headed out of the Great Hall. Sirius slapped Remus on the back, a little too harshly Remus noticed, then slung his arm over his shoulder. Remus smiled, knowing that if nothing else, he always had his friends. And that was enough to get him through.

* * *

**WOW! Guys, I'm seriously thrilled! Just in the day I posted Chapter 5 I gained over 100 views and a few followers. I know it doesn't seem like much, because a lot of other stories have way more by the fifth chapter, but it was really exciting to me just to know that it was getting out there.  
I did get two new reviews, which made me REALLY excited (how lame do I sound? haha). But they meant so much to me that I decided I should breifly reply to them:  
**

**_Soniaham_: Thank you so much! It really makes me feel good to know that someone really likes this and thinks it's going well. It's a real motivator to keep going!**

**_Romanov98_: Thank you (: I know it seems like right now Lily and James don't have a lot to do with the story, but I do have A LOT planned for them a little bit later on. I understand what you mean about each character getting an equal amount of words. I try my best to keep it about equal, but in reality, sometimes some chapters are just more important for one character than it is for the other, you know? Thank you so much for your honest feedback though, it really meant a lot!**

**In case some other readers skipped over my review replies, I would just like to reiterate that I am building up to Lily and James, I promise! I know it seems like they're not that included right now, it's just that the way I see it, Lily and James have a different timeline than the others. You WILL be seeing some more of them as time passes!**


	8. Chapter Seven

**Change My Mind**

_Late at Night_

* * *

The fire crackled softly as the Gryffindor students settled into their common room. The pale yellow light illuminated a small group of girls huddled in one of the sitting areas, giggling quietly as they shared their secrets. Around them, several of the more studious students sat at work, sending glares in the direction of the group every time the mindless giggling interrupted their thoughts.

Emmeline Vance ignored the giggles, though. She sat in a scarlet armchair with her back against one end and her legs hanging over the other. Her legs swung back and forth as she held her book open, mouthing the words on the page as her eyes skimmed it over. Squashed in the small space between her and the chair laid a small cat who—stomach outstretched and paws curling—purred softly as Emmeline ran her hand over the soft fur of its belly. It let out a small meow as it playfully swatted at Emmeline's hand, and then jumped onto her lap. It turned in slow circles before curling into a ball and resuming its purring as Emmeline continued to pet it.

Sirius Black, who had an hour to kill before detention and no James Potter to kill said time with, took notice of his new acquaintance as he stepped down the stairs from the boys' dormitory. A smirk played on his lips as opportunity unfolded before him; he had a plan. A wonderfully magnificent and mischievous plan that he planned to put into action right there and then. So he plopped down in the armchair next to Emmeline and waited for her attention.

Except he didn't get it. Emmeline, who let a few curse words cross her mind as she realized who had just sat next to her, chose to ignore him. She knew Sirius did nothing without reason, whether that reason be something as simple as personal enjoyment or something a little more complex. It was the possibility of complexity that scared her, and she quickly decided her best bet was to stay out of whatever he was planning.

Then the bouncing started. Sirius bounced his leg up and down, creating the rough and distracting sound of his pants rubbing against the fabric of the chair. Emmeline, instantly annoyed, took a deep breath. She knew Sirius was stubborn; but so was she, and she would _not_ let him win. She would not let him get to her. Inhaling deeply, she recalled the image of a large, magical pumpkin-sized Sirius bouncing angrily along the ceiling of the Great Hall. Emmeline bit her lip to fight the smile that was threatening to ruin her cover, and returned her attention to her book.

Then the tapping started. Tap. Tap. Tap. Sirius's fingers hit the armrest of his chair in a melodic pattern: Tap. Tap. Tap. Using her thumb, Emmeline cracked the knuckle of her index finger as she clenched her jaw. Emmeline was stubborn, but by no means patient—and her patience was starting to wear thin. As the tapping continued, she tried her best to push it out of her mind. Magical pumpkins, she thought. Bloody bouncing magical pumpkins. Slowly, her jaw began to relax.

Then he cleared his throat, and she felt something boil inside of her. Screw the pumpkins, she thought, and screw being stubborn. She snapped her book shut dramatically, and turned to Sirius with an innocent smile on her face.

"Hello Sirius," she said sweetly, "I didn't notice you there."

"No?" Sirius asked, "What a shame. I've been told my stunning good looks are rather hard to miss."

Emmeline cocked an eyebrow. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Sirius shrugged, "I was just wondering: have you hexed any innocents lately?"

Emmeline smiled. "I would never hex an innocent. I might, however, charm an idiot."

"I fear you may not be able to," Sirius said solemnly, "You have to be _charming_ to be able to _charm_, dear." With that he flashed her a grin; his signature grin—his charming grin—that he used whenever he was attempting to flirt with or flatter a girl.

Emmeline was not easy to woo, however. Especially not when her suitor was the idiot who made her look stupid in front of not only her peers but her teacher as well. Sirius Black was the last person she would date. In fact, if she had the choice between dating Sirius Black or a rat, Emmeline would happily choose the rat. Sirius was crude, self-centered, ignorant, and above all: "Pathetic."

"What is?" he asked, "Your blatant attraction towards me?"

"Your attempt to flirt with me," she corrected.

"Who said I was flirting? I was merely making conversation," he said, "Aw, Em, I fear your infatuation with me is getting to your head. It's okay, though. I have that effect on people."

"Don't call me Em," she said curtly.

"But Emmie," he flashed her that grin again.

Emmeline sighed. "You really can't teach an old dog new tricks, can you?"

Sirius immediately tensed. "What?"

Emmeline didn't notice his sudden uneasiness. "You use that same trick—that grin—every time you try to get your hands on a girl. I fear you've lost your touch."

Sirius, relieved, smiled. "Well," he said, "There's no need for new tricks when the old ones always get you the treat."

Emmeline blinked, dumbfounded. Part of her wanted to applaud him for his cleverness, but that part was completely overruled by her desire to just _smack_ him. She stared at him blankly for a minute as she thought about it before she turned her attention to the book in her hands. She opened it and resumed reading, only to be interrupted by Sirius within seconds.

"Aw, come on, Em," Sirius whined, "Don't be angry with the puppy." Emmeline looked up at him with the intention of glaring, only to notice he had made his best attempt at puppy-dog eyes.

"You're wasting your energy, _Mr. Black_," Emmeline said, "I'm more of a cat person." She scooped up the cat in her lap carefully and held it out to him, as if to prove a point.

"Cats," Sirius said slowly, "are awful creatures." He had to admit though, the small kitten in front of him was rather… cute. It's strange coloring—a mix between cinnamon and chestnut with stripes of white and brown—made it the most peculiar cat Sirius had ever seen. Its ears and stomach were white, with long strands of fur extending every which way. He reached his hand out to pet it—"Ow!" Sirius exclaimed, pulling his suddenly bleeding finger away.

"Awful creatures," Sirius groaned as he leaned back into his chair.

"His name is Ares," Emmeline said happily, "And apparently he's a wonderful judge of character."

"Sirius?" Remus interrupted the one-sided glaring contest Sirius seemed to be holding with Emmeline. "Shouldn't you be in detention?"

Sirius snapped his head up to check the time only to realize he was already five minutes late. He looked over at Emmeline and felt a twinge of irritation as she smothered her cat with love and attention. He took a breath and looked back at Remus before smiling. "Well," he yawned, stretching his arms out, "I guess that'll be an extra detention for me, eh?"

"That's not a good thing, Sirius," Remus joked.

Sirius stood to walk towards his friend. "Where are you headed Moony?"

"Library," Remus sighed, "I still haven't done that charms essay."

"Another busy night in the astronomy tower last night?" Sirius nudged his friend.

Remus rolled his eyes. "You better hurry, Sirius, or you might end up with two extra detentions." He walked over to portrait hole, then stopped and waited for Sirius to join him.

Sirius glanced over at Emmeline, who was back to reading her book. A smile played on his lips; he still fully intended to follow through with his plan. He started walking towards Remus, but stopped to sneak behind the armrest of the chair that Emmeline's back was resting on.

He swiftly leaned down until his lips were just next to her ear. He placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Goodnight, Em." With that, he left a wet and sloppy kiss on her cheek before he bolted out of the room, grinning like a maniac.

Remus, both befuddled and amused, chuckled as Emmeline groaned in disgust and wiped her cheek with her sleeve. She turned to look at him, her dark brown eyes flashing with anger. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Remus said casually, "just thinking of a joke Sirius once told me."

She rolled her eyes. "Sod off." She turned back into her chair, mumbling something under her breath that Remus couldn't quite make out, though he was almost certain he didn't really want to know.

With a small stack of books in his arms, Remus made his way out of the common room and into the corridor. He glanced down the hallway to see that Sirius hadn't stopped running as he turned the far corner and disappeared from sight.

Remus made his way towards the library, going over his ideas for the essay in his head. His plan was to write it as quickly as possible, so he could get back to the dormitory and sleep. Remus knew all too well, though, that things hardly ever went according to plan.

"Hello, Remus," Ariadne smiled as she skipped towards him.

"Oh, hey, Ari, I didn't see you there," he said.

She smiled in a way he had never seen her smile before—almost as if she knew a secret, a secret so marvelous that she just couldn't wait to share it with him, so that he could be that happy too.

"What?" he asked,

She laughed. "You called me Ari."

"Oh," he said, "I guess it just slipped, if you'd prefer to be called by your full name—"

She cut him off with a passive wave of her hand. "It's fine. It just means you consider me to be your friend."

He cocked an eyebrow. He wanted to ask her why that was a big deal, he wanted to ask her if it was surprising, or wrong, or if she didn't consider him to be her friend, but before he could even put together the right words, she turned on her heel and began skipping down the hallway. "Ari," he called, confusion laced through his voice, "where are you going?"

"It's Thursday!" she said, pausing for a brief moment to look back at him. Remus stood for a moment as her words sank in, and then he smiled. Of course, he thought. It was Thursday, and Thursday meant she would be going to the astronomy tower. "You're slow," she said as she turned back to continue skipping.

Ariadne hummed quietly to herself as she skipped, never bothering to check and see if Remus was following her. It never crossed her mind that he wouldn't, and as soon as he realized she wanted him to follow her, that's exactly what he did. When he finally found his place beside her, she continued skipping ahead, not bothering to look at him. Remus somehow matched the length of her skips to his steps, though he still struggled to keep up with her. She seemed to take notice of this, though, and her skipping slowly faded into a type of graceful walking.

"You know," Remus said as he walked through the door and into the tower, "I _was_ heading to the library to do my charms essay." After setting his books down on a small at the opposite end of the tower, he sat on the steps, resting his arms on his knees before he looked at her.

Ariadne was already at work with her telescope, her eyes pressed against the lens as she altered the focus. "So do it now," she said.

"Here?" he asked, looking around.

"Sure," she replied, "it's much quieter."

"That's true," he said. Grabbing his books, he looked around for a more comfortable place sit, and settled on resting his back against the railing behind the raised platform. Using his knees as a desk, he opened his books and began working.

Surprisingly, he found that this was a much better place for him to work—it was certainly more _comfortable_ than the library. The air was still around him, and instead of the constant distraction of the sounds of pages being turned and papers being written, all he could hear was the occasional movement of Ari, who he almost forgot was there. It was easy to focus, easy to concentrate, easy to lose himself; and that's exactly what he did. He became so immersed in his work that he didn't notice anything that was happening around him. It wasn't until he was done with his essay that he realized he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings; he didn't even know how much time had passed by. A half hour maybe? An hour and a half? Two hours?

When he looked up to ask what time it was, he was instantly reminded of the time they had spent in the library. He thought then that she had more charts than one person would ever need, but that thought was certainly put to shame now. Ari had spread out, in the center of the floor, more charts than he had ever seen before. They were laid out in a circle, the edges all overlapping each other, making it look as if the chain never ended.

He stood up and walked closer, then leaned down to study one. The first thing he saw was a rough sketch of two dogs that overlapped a set of stars. Just under the sketch, in neat cursive, read _Canes Venatici_. He ran his fingers over the ink, surprised to feel a slight bump in the page as he did so. Then the pieces all seemed to fit together; where the parchment overlapped, so did the constellation. Ari hadn't spread out various charts. She was making one very, very large one.

He stood up and looked for her, finding her lying on the floor, huddled over one of the pieces of parchment with a quill in hand. "Ari?"

She looked up at him, her wavy blonde hair falling in her eyes. "I'm almost finished," she said, then went back to charting.

He took a moment to walk in a circle around the giant chart she had created. He had never seen a chart as large or _complex_ as this one, and he was extremely impressed. Some of the constellations hadn't yet been sketched, but all the stars were there, laid out around him the same way the night sky always had been.

"There," she said as she stood up, "done."

"Did you do all of this today?" He asked.

"No," she replied. She walked over to stand next to him, and admired her own work.

He waited for her to continue, but instead she knelt next to one of the pieces. She took her wand out and pressed the tip to the paper, murmuring some spell that Remus couldn't recognize.

"Come look," she said, motioning for him to go to her.

He knelt next to her, wondering what exactly he was supposed to be looking at. Then something caught his eye—_movement._ He looked closer to see that the charted stars and constellations were moving, circling around from parchment to parchment slowly, as if representing their daily transitions. The dogs moved slowly, their legs bending underneath them as if they were running. Then there was a swan—_Cygnus_, if he recalled correctly—that flew from page to page.

"How long have you been working on this?" he asked in awe.

"A while," she said. "I started last year, but took a break over the summer. It didn't feel right to chart from a different place."

"So this is why you come up here every week," he said.

She nodded. "It takes me a few weeks per sheet. I'm almost done, though." She pressed her wand to the paper again, and the stars all floated back to their original positions. As she gathered the pieces of parchment, Remus stood and walked back to his own work, suddenly feeling inadequate.

All these years he had just been going through the motions, writing essay after essay just to get a good grade, and here was Ari, spending weeks after weeks, months after months working on something purely for personal enjoyment. It was just like her in every way; she never did anything she didn't want to do. He admired that about her; he wished he could be like that. He wished he could do only want he wanted to and nothing more, but that just wasn't the way he was. Remus was responsible; he always did what was expected of him, and what he was supposed to do. If he was supposed to write an essay, he'd write the essay. If he was expected to write it well, he would. When his friends expected him to help with their pranks, that's what he did. It never bothered him, either.

"Ow," Ariadne said softly, breaking Remus free of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he walked over to kneel beside her. She was sitting on the ground, papers in one hand with the other pressed against her head.

"I hit my head on the rail."

"Let me see," he said, and she moved her hand off her head and into her lap. He placed his hands on her head, moving her hair aside softly to check for injury. "Well, there's no blood," he said.

She looked up, her bright eyes meeting his tired ones. "You have pretty eyes," she said softly.

Remus felt his face flush. "Um, thank you." He had been complimented before—usually on his kindness or his intelligence—but he had never had a girl tell him he had _pretty eyes_. He hadn't really ever had anyone comment nicely on his appearance, especially when he was standing next to James or Sirius. He stood up, suddenly extremely self-conscious, and politely held out a hand to help her up.

She took it without hesitation, her delicate fingers resting in his calloused hands as he pulled her up. The sudden warmth of her hand sent shivers across his skin.

He was not supposed to feel like that—friends don't get all tingly when they touch other friends. Remus thought about Sirius and James and Peter, and how they insisted that there was more going on between him and Ari than just friendship. Maybe they were right. Maybe Remus had been developing feelings for her ever since she spoke to him, since she noticed him. That must be it, he thought. I'm only interested because she noticed me. It's just a small crush. No big deal.

Deep down, though, Remus knew he was lying to himself. "We should get back," he said quickly. The only way to keep her away from him, the only way to keep her safe, was to walk away while he still could. His friendship with Ariadne had only just begun and he was already ruining it, but what other choice did he have? He made a promise to himself, and he had every intention to keep it.

Ariadne nodded and finished collecting her papers as Remus gathered his books. He waited for her at the door leading to the stairs. She walked up to him with her bag slung over her shoulder, and he avoided meeting her eyes with his own.

"Thank you," she said, "for coming with me."

He nodded and pushed the door open, letting her walk through first. They descended the stairs silently, and he stayed behind her the entire way, his mind racing. How do you tell someone you just became friends with that you can't be around them anymore? He didn't want her to hate him, but there didn't seem to be another way. He'd just have to stop hanging out with her, stop with the Thursday trips to astronomy tower, stop with everything. At best, she'd just forget about him. At worst… well, he didn't want to think about it.

"Goodnight, Remus." Ariadne said as they reached the end of the staircase. She stood next to him as he looked at her for a few moments, gathering up the strength to do the one thing he hated the most: saying goodbye.

"Goodnight, Ari." He finally replied, taking one last look at her before he turned to walk away. After hearing her footsteps fade down the hall, Remus hurried back to The Fat Lady, eager to be in bed and fall asleep, thinking that he had to be the worst type of person in every single way.

* * *

**This chapter was hard to write, and I don't really know why. I knew exactly what needed to happen, I knew how and when and why it needed to happened, but it felt like I was just stuck at a certain point for forever. Anywho, here is the final product: my longest chapter yet (by maybe 200 words?). **

**You might be wondering why there's no Lily and James. Last chapter I promised you their part was coming up.  
**

**Well I didn't lie. It's just impossible to try and give each character an even amount of time each chapter when they all have a story to tell.  
**

**But I can promise you this: you will see a little of the next chapter. You will see even more in chapter nine.  
**

**What's this with Ari and Remus? I'm not sure. You'll have to stick around to find out ;)  
**

**If you're one of the few who have stuck with me even after two weeks of no updates, know that I love you with my entire soul. To the moon and back.  
**

**Thank you all for keeping me going. Honestly, all I need is to see that people are reading and it makes me want to update. But, hinthintwinkwink, reviews always excite me.  
**

**I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for reading :)  
**


	9. Chapter Eight

**Change My Mind**

_A Powerful Temptation_

* * *

"Hey Lily," James cheerfully greeted the redhead as he and his friends walked into potions class early Tuesday morning. Around them, students slowly began piling into the room, making their way to their respective seats as they chatted pleasantly.

"Hello James," Lily sighed. Her books landed with a small _thud_ as she carelessly dropped them onto her desk. She took a deep breath before looking at James glumly; she really wasn't in the mood to be asked out by James, again, but she didn't have the heart to be rude, either.

"Are you okay?" He asked. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth were turned down in a small frown.

Lily looked at him, clearly surprised. While it was certainly _unusual_ for James to say anything to her other than "go out with me", it had happened before. No, the root of her surprise rested in the fact that he had never shown any signs of real _concern_ for her before, not counting the times when he oh-so-valiantly defended her from Snape, as Lily considered those the be acts of pigheaded kindness that were supposed to trick her into falling for him.

She glanced over at Remus and Sirius, wondering if the group was about to play some sort of practical joke and James was merely being used as a distraction. Her idea fell flat as she spotted the two in their usual places—a few tables over—and talking rather animatedly. Sirius, who seemed to be in the middle of a story he had been waiting his entire life to tell, was exaggerating his every movement; he was waving his hands enthusiastically, and his face was changing into a whirlwind of different expressions with each word he spoke. Remus, who stood across from him, leaned back against one of the desks, laughing.

"I'm fine, James," Lily answered hesitantly.

"Oh," James said, though he was clearly not convinced. "You just look sad."

"I'm fine," Lily repeated, eyeing him exasperatedly.

James's lips parted in protest, but as Slughorn entered the room, his words were lost between the hustling of other students and the booming of their professor's voice.

"Everyone sit," Professor Slughorn called. Taking one last look and Lily, James reluctantly walked back to his desk and sat next to Sirius. "Today you will be attempting to brew Amortentia. Does anyone remember what this potion does?"

Lily's hand rose slowly, and Slughorn immediately nodded towards her, giving her permission to speak. "Amortentia is the strongest love potion in the world."

"Correct," Slughorn smiled. "Five points to Gryffindor. Amortentia is most easily recognized by its pearly sheen, although you should also note that a well-drafted sample should produce steam that spirals. Tomorrow you will hand in a six inches of parchment on a review of the process and your results. By results, I do _not_ mean what you smell—I am not interested in what strange things attract you—however, I would like a full report on how well the potion turned out. Now, I will be pairing you up and you will be expected to finish brewing by the end of class today."

The class groaned. Among them was Emmeline Vance, who knew exactly how Slughorn's pairings would work out. It wasn't as if it were a secret, though; Slughorn _always_ picked the pairings, and they were _always_ the exact same. It even started the same, every time:

"Potter and Black," Slughorn called, looking down at his list, as if he didn't have it memorized. The professor was strange, though, and Emmeline wouldn't put it past him to not take any care with his own plans and ideas.

"Figures," Emmeline whispered to herself. Sirius and James were always called first. Slughorn eyed them warningly each time, under the impressions that it was a sufficient way to imply that they better behave, but the pair just grinned as if to say they were making no promises. There was a time when Slughorn did his best to separate the two, but after years of failed attempts he learned it was much easier, and, after a particularly nasty incident—one that involved Sirius, Snape, and purple hair—much safer, to simply let them work together.

Slughorn continued. "Longbottom and Avery, Clearwater and MacDonald, Snape and Vance—"

"Objection," Emmeline argued, although she knew it was hopeless. Emmeline didn't hate Snape; in fact, the two got along adequately when paired together. It was just that there were _so_ many people that she'd rather be working with, and Snape could be a bloody git when he was in a bad mood.

"Overruled," Slughorn said immediately. "Lupin and Evans, McKinnon and Abbot, Prewett and Meadowes, and finally Golding and Saunders."

Ariadne didn't have to look around the room to realize her partner wasn't present. "Professor," she said as she raised her hand to get Slughorn's attention.

Slughorn looked her way and noticed her partner's absence immediately. "Does anyone know where Miss Saunders is?" He glanced around the room at each of his pupils, not caring to notice most of their uncaring shrugs and glances.

"Hospital wing, sir," a girl finally replied.

"Very well then," Slughorn said, "Would anyone care to invite Miss Golding to join their group?"

Emmeline watched passively as Ariadne stood in the front of the class, rocking back and forth on her heels. She saw how Remus's eyes immediately shot up as Slughorn said Ariadne's name, asking for a group to take her in. Emmeline smiled, shaking her head slightly in amusement.

She—along with what seemed to be the rest of the Gryffindors—had not failed to notice the amount of time Remus had been spending with Ariadne. Emmeline was, quite frankly, happy that Remus finally showed interest in _someone_. After all, it had only been a year or two ago that she had actually started to notice the strangeness of his ways. In fact, if she recalled correctly, it was back in fifth year, after Sirius had broken up with some Hufflepuff girl who was pretty, but not really that intelligent. The poor girl stood outside the portrait hole for a week, begging her fellow classmates to let her into the common room, but to no avail. It was funny, until it was annoying, and all the Gryffindor students who where around then still seemed to hold something against Hufflepuff—and nothing against Sirius—for it. In the end, it was Remus who went out to talk to the girl, and it was Remus who got her to go back to her own common and realize that it was over with Sirius.

It was because of this, that the first thing Emmeline truly observed about Remus Lupin was that he always seemed to be picking up everyone else's mess. Not long after that, she noticed that he had this serious loner vibe going on, which she thought was weird, considering who he was friends with. It wasn't like he was antisocial; in fact, he was exceedingly kind and polite. He just seemed to prefer being alone; she'd often see him sitting by himself with his face buried behind a book, or taking a solitary walk along the Black Lake. His loneliness extended beyond that, though: Remus never seemed to even _want _to be with someone romantically. Emmeline could recall multiple girls that had been drawn to his intelligence and his kindness, and though he never technically shot them down, he never indulged them, despite how obvious or well-intentioned their attraction was.

From what Emmeline knew about Ariadne Golding, though, the girl didn't seem much different. Ariadne was the type of person who caused others to wonder about the correlation between craziness and genius: she was exceptionally bright, although, well, _incredibly weird_. She wasn't weird in a bad way, though. Mostly she enjoyed skipping down the corridors, and, like Remus, spending time alone. Emmeline had once heard a few Slytherins making fun of her, saying that Ariadne showed no evidence of being _human_ (their reasoning was her lack of involvement and no obvious emotional response to anything, ever). Emmeline had never believed this though. The few times she had talked to Ariadne, the girl had been nothing but pleasant and kind. Coincidentally, Emmeline had hexed those Slytherins.

So Remus was showing interest, Ariadne was showing evidence of being human, and Emmeline was happy; she liked seeing good things happening to good people. Being the romantic she was, Emmeline saw the rest of Remus and Ariadne's life together play out in her head: Ariadne would go join Remus and Lily, and their love—they being Remus and Ari, of course—would continue to bloom, they'd get married, have freakishly smart loner babies, and live happily ever after. Two lonely people finding company in each other; _definitely_ the best type of love story. Except, almost immediately after Remus looked up, he looked away.

Confused, Emmeline began shifting her eyes between the two. Ariadne stood in the same place, still rocking, with her hands behind her back, as if she hadn't noticed at all. Remus had bent his head over his desk, his light brown hair falling over his eyes and concealing his face. "Hey," Emmeline called slowly, "you can come join us." Snape shot Emmeline a look, but she simply shrugged, as if to say _get over it_.

"Thank you Miss Vance," Slughorn said as Ariadne walked towards Emmeline. "Remember class, I am trusting you _all_," Slughorn cast a pointed look at Sirius and James, "to be responsible with this potion. Any students caught attempting to slip some potion out of this room or into the belongings, including drinks, of another student will receive a month's detention. You may begin."

"Hello, Emmeline," Ariadne smiled as she took her place at the table, "Hello, Severus." Around them, other students were rushing to gather their supplies from the cabinet and begin.

"Hey, Ariadne." Emmeline replied. Snape grunted as if it were an acceptable greeting, and Emmeline looked at him, appalled. "Go get the supplies," she ordered him.

"I'm not your bloody house elf," he replied.

Emmeline cocked an eyebrow. "Fine," she said, faking defeat, "I'll do it. What type of egg do we need again? The big shiny one?"

"For Merlin's sake," Snape groaned. He dropped his quill dramatically, then left to head towards the supply cabinet, obviously annoyed with Emmeline. Not that she cared.

"Good riddance," Emmeline smiled. "Hey Ari, do you remember what page this is on?"

Ariadne nodded and slowly opened her textbook, fingering the corners of the pages as she turned them. Eventually she came across the right one. _Amortentia_ was spelled out in loopy cursive at the top of the page, and underneath it were more diagrams and instructions than Emmeline had ever seen for a single potion. She groaned, knowing that she was in for one hell of an hour, though she was grateful to have both Ariadne and Snape, who would without a doubt carry her through, if only for their own sake.

"Moony!" Sirius's voice sounded through the room. "Let's go grab supplies for our partners." He eyed James and then Lily before sending Remus a wink.

Remus smiled. "I'll be right back, Lily."

"Yeah, okay," she replied. Her somber tone caught Remus off guard, and he glance at Lily briefly, wondering if something was wrong. Before he had time to ask though, Sirius was dragging him, by the arm, towards the supply cabinet.

"Lily," James said once his friends were a considerable distance away.

"I'm fine, James." Lily said without looking up.

"But Lily," he protested.

"James," she said curtly, "Drop it."

James stood, hurt. But Lily meant everything to him, and he just wanted to see her smile. He searched through his belongings quickly before he turned to walk over to her, fiddling with the small satin pouch in his hands as he settled in front of her desk. He waited for her to look at him, but she didn't, so he set the pouch down on her desk and took a step back.

Lily looked at the pouch, and then at him, confused. He nodded, as if encouraging her to open it. She reached for it, and pulled the drawstrings apart before emptying some of the pouch's contents into her hand. A small smile played on her lips immediately.

"Chocoballs," she said, "these are—"

"Your favorite, I know."

"Stalker, much?" Lily teased, admittedly caught off guard.

"You always eat some when you're upset."

Lily looked at him, stunned. She had always thought James was self-centered and ignorant of those around him. She wanted to hug him, but she didn't want to touch him. Her hormones wanted to ask him to father her children, but before her lips could dare to betray her brain, she said: "You just happened to have some?"

James grinned. "Well, you know, from Hogsmeade trips and all."

"The last Hogsmeade trip was three weeks ago," she countered.

He shrugged. "The last official one, sure."

"James!" Lily said, a horrified look on her face. "You're supposed to be a prefect!"

James scrunched his eyebrows. "I _am_ a prefect."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, but, you're supposed to _act _like one too."

James smiled. The thing about Lily, he thought, was that there was something about her that was just so incredibly adorable. Yet as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but think that it was so incredibly false: there wasn't _something _about Lily that was adorable; _everything_ about Lily was adorable.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she stared down at the pouch in her hands.

"You're welcome," James said.

Lily popped a chocoball into her mouth as James walked back to his table. The taste of melting chocolate instantly washed away her worries; at least for the time being. Lily glanced back at James. He was leaning over his book, most likely reading over the instructions, and his hair was falling into his face, softening his features. She found, for the first time, that the messiness of his hair was actually _attractive_.

"Are you stupid?" Snape's voice interrupted Lily's thoughts. He was scolding Emmeline—well, attempting to—but she was rolling her eyes. "You have to heat up the cauldron before you start, or the peppermint and moonstone powder won't liquidate."

"Did you really just say _liquidate_?" Emmeline asked.

"Yes, Vance," Snape spat, "It means—"

"To melt," she finished. "I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me," Snape said.

"Severus," Ariadne's soft voice broke the tension between the two. "Why doesn't Emmeline finish crushing the peppermint so that it's ready once the cauldron _is_ heated?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Emmeline stuck out her tongue at him, but returned to crushing the peppermint, albeit a little too harshly. She was tired. Crush. She did not want to be here. Crush. She especially did not want to be here with Snape. Crush. Snape was a moron. Crush.

"The powder isn't fine enough," Snape criticized.

"For Merlin's sake," Emmeline said exasperatedly, "_you_ do it." She pushed the mortar and pestle towards him. He glared at her before grudgingly taking the peppermint and continuing to crush it.

Emmeline, feeling as if her patience had been tested enough for one day, found no solace in the company of Sirius Black, who, on his way back from gathering supplies, stopped at her table with the full intent of annoying her.

"I'll just hold on to this for a while," Sirius teased as he picked up her wand with his thumb and pointer finger, and waved it around playfully. "Wouldn't want you to be tempted to hex me again."

"Allegedly." Emmeline shot back, snatching her wand from his hands.

Sirius grinned. "Although, I have to admit, if you were to change your target to Snivellus over there, I wouldn't mind a bit. In fact, I'd be willing to help you."

"Get lost, Black," Snape spat. Emmeline was, for the first time, grateful for his greasy presence.

Sirius winked at Emmeline, who rolled her eyes, as he headed back towards James. Remus followed not far behind, his hands filled with supplies. He glanced at Ariadne reflexively, before turning his head and making his way back to his seat. The last thing he wanted was to make eye contact with her.

"Hello, Remus," Ari said sweetly as he passed. Remus swore internally, and hated himself for what he was about to do. He walked by without a glance, without a word, without a visible care. His heart sped up, pain and nervousness and anxiety overtaking him. Remus Lupin _hated_ hurting his friends.

Emmeline could see the hurt flash over Ariadne's face. Snape did as well. The difference was that while Emmeline wanted to comfort the girl, Snape snickered. "Please tell me you didn't expect him to actually be _nice_ to you."

"Leave her alone, Snape," Emmeline said softly, turning to the book.

"I'm just saying, their little group is pathetic. They're all moronic slugs and pathetic excuses for wizards. Lupin's just as bad as the rest of them, if not worse. You know, because of his _mood swings_," Snapes voice dripped with venom. "You'd be a damn fool to trust him. People like him don't care about anyone."

"Snape," Emmeline warned, shooting him a look. He understood exactly what her look meant, but he didn't care.

Ariadne lowered her head, never taking her gaze off the book. "The cauldron is ready."

Emmeline, fed up with Snape, snatched the peppermint and moonstone powders from him, before dumping them eagerly into the cauldron. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him flinch at her hastiness, no doubt thinking that it would have some type of negative effect on their end result.

"We need a frozen ashwinder egg," Snape said, and thus their work continued silently. The three worked together quickly, only talking when needed. Emmeline had made it clear to Snape that now was not the time to be a jackass, and an awkward tension had fallen over them. the silence was broken as class began to wrap up, and students begun packing their belongings, the loud shuffling of personal items broke the concentrated silence of the classroom.

"Hey Prongs," Sirius said to his friend, "I think our potion is done. I can smell it."

James inhaled. "You're right," he said as he leaned over the cauldron. "I smell... lilies."

Sirius grinned; Lily blushed. Of course he smelled lilies. "Well," Sirius said, "I smell fire and, uh, some type of flower I guess. What about you, Lily?" he winked.

"Parchment," she said, "and chocoballs." Not because of James, Lily reasoned. She had always loved chocoballs; James didn't change that.

Her curiosity peaked, Emmeline stepped closer to the table and inhaled deeply. "I smell rain. And smoke." Emmeline wrinkled her nose and took another deep breath, certain that there was something else there, although she wasn't sure what it was. "What do you smell, Ariadne?"

Ariadne leaned over the cauldron to take a whiff. She was slightly surprised by the complexity of what she smelled: there was the library—the smell of books and parchment—and peppermint, but above all, something more potent and rather peculiar: "Chocolate."

Remus's eyes shot up to look at her. Ariadne wasn't looking at him. He tried to convince himself that the chocolate had nothing to do with him; he hadn't even told her about his love for it. She couldn't possibly know. But then again, he thought, Ari was nothing if not observant. Remus closed his eyes and inhaled, guilt settling in his heart as he realized what he smelled: ink, parchment, and the rush of cool, crisp air that filled his lungs every time he walked out to the Astronomy tower.

* * *

**It's been a while, I know. But with the Holidays and Exams, I just didn't have the time. Just keep in mind that this story will always still be continuing, I just have to find the time to update and I will. I love all of you who continue to read this, it means so much to me.**

**So what did you guys think of the chapter? I'm curious to know how you all think it's going :)**


	10. Chapter Nine

**Change My Mind**

_Heart to Heart_

* * *

The pearly light slipped through the crack between the curtains, creating a small beam of silver on the table. Although hidden behind the luxurious scarlet drapes, the moon tugged on Remus's heart and pinched at his every nerve. Remus tapped his fingers against the wooden table anxiously, producing a small chorus of anxious thuds; a melody of the tortured. He bit his lip, not quite hard enough to draw blood, as he turned the page of the textbook—rather, the chapter—that he had been reading for the past hour. Studying seemed to be the only thing that ever helped him take his mind off the excruciating pain that consumed the days before his transformation.

Still, everything around him was distracting and aggravatingly stimulating. Whenever he breathed, he inhaled the scent of a fifth year's perfume that assaulted his senses and burned his nostrils. In an unconscious attempt to get rid of the burn, he would wrinkle his nose and take another breath, only to be reintroduced to the smell of lavender and honeysuckle. Underneath all that, though, was the fire. Although his back was turned to the monstrous Gryffindor fireplace, the warmth of the cackling fire scorched him, and the beads of sweat that it produced prickled his skin as it trickled down his neck. The whispers of his classmates whizzed and buzzed around his ears, and with a tightened jaw, Remus cracked his neck to suppress his boiling rage. Still, the soft giggles of his fellow classmates beat on his eardrums like the drumsticks of one of the ridiculous bands Sirius had tried to turn Remus on to, and Remus couldn't help but think that Hell couldn't be much worse than this.

"Moony," Sirius said as he pulled up a chair and took a seat next across from Remus, "what are you doing here?" His voice was, although a normal volume, the equivalent of a dog whistle to Remus's sensitive ears. He wanted nothing more than to be able to whimper and cower into a corner, or maybe even go sleep. He thought about it. Experience taught him that the only way to get through these torturous times was to suffer through them.

"Uh," Remus stuttered as he looked up from his book. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to compose his thoughts, clearing his mind before reopening them. "Well, this is the Gryffindor common room, and I'm in Gryffindor, so I'm supposed to use this place to study and do my work—"

"Yeah yeah, you're a saint," Sirius rolled his eyes, "I meant why are you here _now_?"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, genuinely baffled. He knew for a fact that he didn't have prefect duties; James was kind enough to take them over in the days surrounding the full moon. He racked his brain for anything he could have possibly forgotten, only to come up short.

"Well, it's Thursday," Sirius began, and Remus felt his heart twinge at the all too familiar words. He could almost hear Ari's voice ringing in his ears: her soft, airy tone; her comforting words. "I was under the impression you had some delicious snog-fests with your special lady friend on Thursdays." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, finishing with a signature wink.

Remus's eyes fell back down to his textbook. "Oh, no."

Sirius frowned, suddenly bothered by his friend's unsatisfactory reaction—he knew Remus wouldn't actually fight with him, but Remus wasn't the type to just give in, either. "What's up with the sudden halt in your relationship, Moony?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Remus said as he leaned back in his chair. The fact that Sirius said _relationship_ instead of _friendship_ bothered him, more than it probably should. He reached out for his book, pulling it closer by the corner. He moved to hover over it, his elbows on the table and his head resting in his hands, and he pretended to begin reading.

"Really?" Sirius asked with disbelief. "So what was up with that cold shoulder you turned her way in Potions a few days ago?" Sirius leaned forward, his elbows on the table as well, but his hands clasped firmly together in front of him. He was determined to make Remus talk to him; if Remus would talk to anyone, it would be Sirius, after all.

"I wasn't being cold," Remus replied coolly. Sirius suppressed a snicker.

"Hell froze over." Sirius said sternly. He kept his eyes on Remus, as he waited for his friend to reply with something smart, something witty to show that he really was alright. Something that would tell Sirius that Remus didn't need him to pry after all. Remus stayed silent, though, and the silence said all too much for Sirius to simply let go. "Remus, what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Sirius." There it is, Sirius thought. It wasn't the outright declaration that Sirius would have preferred, but at least it was an implied struggle. As long as Remus would admit that something _was_ wrong, Sirius was sure that he could break through to him, help him, if he could. He always had in the past. He was determined to do so this time as well. Sirius grinned and leaned closer to his friend, take a deep breath before step one of his intervention began:

"Does she smell funny? Did she give you too much tongue? Too little? Did she do something weird like lick your face?" Sirius began to shoot off questions, knowing that if he asked enough, he would wear Remus down eventually. "A girl did that to me once. I won't name names, but it was pretty gross." Remus looked at Sirius incredulously, and slightly disgusted, but Sirius continued. "Don't even try Remus, I really won't tell you who it was. Oh! Did she suddenly become way too possessive? I swear, girls get one grab at the goods and all of the sudden they think you belong to them, forever. She didn't ask you to marry her, did she?"

"Sirius." Remus groaned, and Sirius sighed an internal victory. Step two:

Sirius leaned closer to his friend, and lowered his voice before continuing. "Did she say... something?" Even thought Sirius didn't say it, Remus knew was he was implying: _did she start asking questions? _"Remus, did someone else say something? Was it Snape? I swear, I'll hex that scrawny—"

"Snape didn't do anything," Remus sighed.

Sirius waited for him to continue, to defend Snape, to convince him that any form of payback was not only unneeded but unwanted as well, but he didn't. Remus didn't so much as look his friend in the eye. So Sirius asked the only thing he thought could break Remus away from his new special lady friend: "Did you tell her?"

"What?" Remus blinked, dumbfounded, as if the thought was preposterous and he couldn't believe Sirius would even ask.

"About..." Sirius began to clarify regardless, but Remus cut him off before he even had the chance.

"No." Remus's voice was short and cold, and slightly too loud—a few people had turned their heads in confusion, or maybe it was shock, but they only glance for a few seconds before they returned to their own conversations. Well, Sirius thought, at least I know what this is about, now. Step three:

"Remus," Sirius pleaded, "talk to me. You've been depressed for days."

"I'm not depressed," Remus defended quickly. "I'm just..." Remus trailed off, looking out the window. It was raining. Remus usually liked the sound of the rain, the sound that it made as it tapped against the window or the roof. Now, though, it made his head want to burst. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Sad." Sirius offered, turning his head to watch the rain. Sad, he repeated in his head. What a simple emotion. For some reason, it was startling.

"Yeah." Remus confirmed. Sad was a good word for it.

"Why?"

Remus sighed. "She told me I have 'pretty eyes'."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, Remus, your eyes are the loveliest I've ever seen. In fact—"

"Sirius," Remus sighed in exasperation. He rubbed his temples, his fingers moving in small circles, as he tried to alleviate his growing headache.

Sirius felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that his friend was really struggling with this, for whatever lame reason. He sat up a little straighter, as if it would set his mind straight. Step four: "What's the big deal?"

Silence. But not emptiness. Just a mere, lingering silence. This was often the way with Remus—his answers were silent, left to interpretation, like a song or a book. Somehow, thought, Sirius found that Remus was always easier to understand when his words were silent. Or maybe Sirius was just a really great guesser. Step five:

"Remus, you have to stop doing this to yourself." Sirius sighed, catching his friend's full attention. "It's okay to be with someone. You know, a girl. James, Peter, and I don't count. You can't snog us. Well, you could, but we'd probably punch you if you tried."

Despite everything, Remus's lips cracked into a smile. Nevertheless, he stood his ground. "I can't, Sirius. I wouldn't be good for any girl."

"Remus, you are probably the most selfless person I know. But have you ever thought, that maybe," Sirius began gently, "you should start taking other people's feelings into consideration before making these types of decisions?"

Remus looked at him. Sirius fell back into his chair, his long black hair messy and uncared for. He no longer had his robes on, but his tie hung around his neck loosely; a trademark Sirius move. Remus could only guess what girl he had previously been attempting to woo; and his guess was that it had been someone who hadn't quite fallen for it.

Sirius looked back to the rain. "I saw you struggle to ignore her. I also saw her struggle to ignore the fact that you had." He thought back to that day in potions, when she had tried to say hello to him. He thought about the flicker of emotion on her face when he didn't reply. He thought about the way Remus had been almost completely silent for the rest of the class period, focusing on nothing other than the potion. He mentally kicked himself for not intervening then.

"What are you saying I should do?" Remus gave in after what seemed to be a long silence. To what, he wasn't really sure. It wasn't Sirius. But it wasn't Ari, either. So, then... what?

Sirius felt victory quickly approaching him, but there was still one step left in his intervention; step five: "It's a two step plan." Sirius informed him as he sat upright.

"What's step one?" Remus asked, looking his friend in the eye.

"Get off your lazy arse." Sirius said with a grin.

Remus smiled, quickly dropping his eyes down to his book before looking back up at Sirius. "Step two?"

"Go to the Astronomy tower and _snog_." Sirius grinned, putting emphasis on the "snog".

"I think that's three steps," Remus said, matter-of-factly.

"You think too much." Sirius sighed, standing up. His work was done.

Remus said nothing. He couldn't help but agree.

"Padfoot! Moony!" James yelled as he jumped down the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories. His hair was messier than usual, his glasses offset, and his tie almost completely undone. "Have you seen Lily?"

"She left a while ago," Remus said, ignoring the pounding ache of his head.

"Oh shit," James said, more to himself that anyone else. "She's gonna kill me. I fell asleep again. Lily is going to _murder_ me. And you know what, she'll be so sneaky with it, that you won't even be able to find my body. Oh Merlin, she'll turn me invisible and sink me to the bottom of the Black Lake, or worse, she'll feed me to the Giant Squid—"

"It's not too late, Prongs," Sirius said as he looked at the clock above the fireplace. "Go catch her."

James nodded appreciatively, and with the swish of his wand he fixed his tie. The next moment he was gone, running out of the portrait hole and down the corridors in a blink of the eye. Or at least, that's how it seemed to Remus. Sirius thought that James looked rather like a galloping dragon; sloppy and ungraceful. James only wished Lily would spare him his life.

He ran quickly through the corridors, following the path that he and Lily usually took on their night patrols. He internally cursed himself for not thinking to use the map while he still had the chance—it would have been better than running through the halls—but he quickly brushed off the thought and turned the corner.

"Lily!" James yelled as he spotted his fiery sweetheart, relief washing over him.

"James!" Lily hissed, turning on her heels. "No running in the halls! And no yelling, either! You're head boy, you should know that!"

Upon finally catching up to her, James placed his hands on his knees as he gasped for air in a desperate attempt to catch his breath. He made long, soft wheezing noises as his lungs caught up to the rest his body. After a few long seconds, he stood up straight, finally able to breathe correctly. He ran a hand through his already messy enough hair, then loosened his tie just a bit, before turning his attention to Lily.

She looked positively appalled. "You know, for a Quidditch player, you're pretty out of shape."

"Lily!" James threw a hand over his heart with the full intention of telling her how hurt he was by that comment. Just as he was about to, thought, he had a change of heart; her eyes looked sad. Suddenly he didn't feel well. He continued, "I'm sorry. I fell asleep. I'll be more careful in the future."

Lily rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She turned around, glancing back quickly to make sure he was ready to go before she moved forward to continue patrolling the corridors. James followed close behind at first, but soon moved quick enough to walk by her side. He kept a comfortable distance between them, unsure of how he was supposed to act in the current situation.

"Hey Lily?" James asks after a few minutes of silent patrolling. He knew he probably shouldn't ask, but the curiosity was twisting his brain into mush. They turn the corner of the corridor, their path illuminated primarily by the candles on the walls. The people in the portraits around them moved slowly, most not bothering to glance at the young students. They, like the rest of the castle, were getting ready to go to bed.

"Hm?" Lily replied.

James turned his head slightly to look at her. Usually, during patrol, Lily looked focused and determined. Now, though, her expression looked vague; she looked unreachable. That scared him. "Are you okay?"

Lily sighed, her shoulders dropping as if they were too heavy for her to carry any longer. "I'm fine, James."

James wished that he could reach out to her, massage her shoulders, maybe lighten her burden, whatever it may be. "You can talk to me if you're not, you know."

"Except I am." Lily glanced at him, her eyes narrowed and her gaze hardened, as if telling him to shut up. Together, they turned another corner, and Lily felt a wave of relief wash over her as she realized she would be comfortably in bed in just a few more minutes.

Though the sudden harshness in Lily's tone scared him, James never was very good at shutting up. "I'm here for you, Lily."

"James?" Lily asked in exasperation. She didn't understand how he couldn't get the hint that she was basically throwing at him: _I don't want to talk about it_. She didn't understand why he never got the hint that she didn't want to date, him either. Though maybe it simply didn't matter to him. Lily didn't understand James, at all. He was a pretty puzzle that she had no intention of solving.

"Yes?" He replied hopefully. If he could just get her to open up to him, maybe she would see that he isn't that bad, that he had grown up in the past few years. He just needed one chance, and then he could show her how good he could be for her. How good they could be together.

"I really just need some quiet time." Lily said quietly, keeping her eyes on the path in front of her.

"Okay." James sighed, but remained quiet nonetheless. He didn't want to upset her any further. Maybe time was all she really needed.

His mind raced in the moments that foollowed. What was wrong? Why wouldn't she tell him? Was she telling _anyone_? His mind thought of question after question, firing each off at a rapid speed. James was so preoccupied with these thoughts that didn't even realize they had returned to the portrait hole until Lily cleared her throat impatiently.

"Leo spoliarium." James said absentmindedly. The portrait hole swung open, and Lily entered with James not far behind.

"Good night, James." Lily said, though she did not look back at him. She made her way up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"Good night, Lily." James watched her leave until he could no longer see her, then made his way into his own dormitory, where he collapsed on his bed and fell asleep quickly.

As soon as Lily opened the door to her dormitory, she heard Emmeline cussing. Choosing to ignore it—ignoring it was always the best route to take with Emmeline—she made her way to her own bed as Emmeline continued to curse under her breath, mumbling about something Lily didn't necessarily care to know.

As Lily was changing, though, Emmeline began making her bed; she ripped the blankets off of her bed, threw the pillows on the ground, and remade her bed quickly and angrily, as if she had just caught them all talking about her behind her back.

"What's gotten into you?" Lily finally glanced at Emmeline as she crawled into her own bed.

Emmeline sighed and sat on her bed. "Oh, just an ignorant prat who was trying to woo me earlier."

Lily smiled, knowing that she didn't have to say anything in return. Emmeline returned the smile before closing the heavy scarlet curtains around her bed closed, and Lily did the same. She was glad that she was back in her own room, with people who wouldn't ask her what was wrong. Lily never was very good at asking for help.

* * *

**I completely suck, I know. I am so sorry for the long delay. Between work, school, and sleep, I just haven't had very much time to write and edit recently. I know it probably seemed like I gave up, but I promise, this story will continue until it's end. I'm sorry to all those who constantly checked back to see if I've posted a new chapter. **

**Also, I would really like to thank AlwaysACandlelitCorridor. I know you posted your review a few weeks ago, and this is an extremely late reply, but thank you so much for that review! I actually read it on my break at work, and it made a stressful day so much better. I'm really glad you like this story so much! Your review actually inspired me to go home and continue writing this chapter, and although it took a while, I got through it :)  
**

**Thank you all so much for reading, and please remember that any type of feedback is always welcome and appreciated. It really helps inspire me to get back to this story! :)  
**

**Have a good day, ya'll.  
**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Change My Mind**

_A Dangerous Apology_

* * *

Remus didn't talk to Ari that night. He didn't talk to her the following night, either. He didn't plan to until after his transformation, but when he saw her sitting in the library, alone, he started to walk up to her before he even had the chance to think about what he was about to do and what he was going to say. Remus knew that this was a very, very bad idea. All he had to do was keep staying away from her and everything would be okay, no one would get hurt. Somehow, though, Sirius had managed convinced him to talk to her. Remus had no idea how, but that always seemed to be the way with Sirius; he always got what he wanted, one way or another.

Maybe it was the thought of Ariadne hating him that made him keep walking towards her. Maybe it was because it felt natural, going to sit with her in the library; or maybe he was in too much pain to care about the consequences it might bring. Maybe the moon had finally driven him mad. Either way, he didn't turn back. Upon reaching her, he stood awkwardly besides the chair across from her, suddenly hesitant.

"Oh hello, Remus," she said, the words ringing all too familiar and pleasant to his sensitive ears, "I was under the impression you were ignoring me."

He cringed at how freely she said it, though he was thankful for the softness in her voice. He had a sinking feeling that this conversation wasn't going to end well. "Not ignoring, just…" he trailed off for a moment as pulled out the seat across from her and sat down. "Distancing."

She glanced over at him, her eyes vacant. "I see." Something in her expression told him that she sympathized with him, but he didn't understand how that could be. She knew nothing of his reasons. He suddenly felt worse. He didn't deserve her sympathy. He wanted it, though, badly.

Remus waited for her to ask why he was distancing himself, but she didn't say anything more. Of course she wouldn't ask, he thought. She didn't ask that day in the hospital wing, and she wouldn't ask now. He found this both intriguing and confusing, but above all, it made his head spin. "I'm dangerous," he suddenly blurted out—he cracked his knuckles as the sound of his own voice created a pulsing pain in his head—causing Ariadne to cock an eyebrow. "To be around, I mean." He internally cursed himself, wondering what the hell had caused him to say something like that. He wasn't about to explain his situation to her, especially not now, when his temper could so easily give out. "Bad things tend to happen to me." It wasn't a lie, but it definitely wasn't the truth, either.

"Dangerous," she repeated, as if it was a foreign word and she was trying to understand its meaning based on nothing but context. Her big, blue eyes flickered up to meet his own, and in that moment he could see all of the emotion running back into her eyes. Just as quickly, the connection was gone again. Although her eyes never strayed, she was no longer looking at him; she was looking past him.

Remus realized then that talking to Ari made him feel comfortable and anxious at the same time. His body was more relaxed than it had been in days, but his stomach flipped and turned continuously, as if he were at the top of a roller-coaster waiting to drop down. Caught in contradiction, he sighed. "I just don't think it's safe for you to be close to me."

She smiled weakly, which only confused him further. His head hurt again. "James, Sirius, and Peter are close to you," she said, "they seem perfectly fine."

Remus knew that tiptoeing around his "problem" was never going to be easy, but leave it to Ari to make it even more difficult than it already had been. "It's different," he said, and he truly believed it was.

"Different," she repeated, the same way she had repeated "dangerous". It was hard to tell whether she was deep in thought or asking for clarification.

"They're my friends," he said simply, attempting to offer her some clarification.

Remus didn't realize what he had said until Ariadne cringed, pain briefly flashing over her face. "I see," she said, turning her attention back to her book, as if dismissing him.

Remus's mind rejoiced; he could turn this back around as originally planned, he could appeal to her humanity, convince her that he was no good to be around. But the idea of hurting her—letting her be hurt, even—made his heart ache. He wanted her around. "Ari—" he started, but she interrupted him.

"It's fine," she smiled weakly. "I understand."

No no no no, Remus thought. No, that's not what I meant. No, it's not fine. No, you don't understand. Please, no. Ignoring her was so much easier when he didn't have to watch her reactions. That fact that she wouldn't look him in the eye—were hers glossy?—only made it harder for him to bear. "I care about you in a different way," he said, desperate to explain, for her to look at him.

Ariadne breathed deeply, but she didn't say anything. The feeling that this conversation wouldn't end well washed back over Remus, and he found himself suddenly becoming more and more panicked, and the pulsing in his head more and more frantic. He felt sick. His stomach wouldn't stop turning.

"They don't make my stomach flip," he blurted out. He inhaled sharply, trying desperately to breathe those words back into his mouth. Ariadne looked at him. His heart slowed, the pain in his head numbed, and he was still. He was waiting to see where this was about to go. It was a long few seconds, minutes even, maybe—Remus couldn't tell—before she responded. He hadn't noticed how tense she was until now, when she finally relaxed, her shoulders slouching and her fist unclenching as the familiar warm twinkle in her eye returned.

"And I do?" she asked. Remus sighed and laughed at the same time, partially confused, a little anxious, and somewhat scared. Of course, Ari would ask the one question he didn't want to answer. The one he didn't know _how_ to answer. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, looking anywhere but in her eyes.

Then her hand was suddenly in his, her fingers slipping into the gap between his thumb and the rest of his fingers. She squeezed his hand softly, and he looked back to her. She was smiling. "Remus," she said softly, "Okay."

Remus looked at her, confused. "Okay?"

"It's okay," she nodded, and he understood: she forgave him. So it's that easy, he thought, stunned. She smiled again, as if nothing had ever been wrong. As if forgiveness was easy, as if this was a good idea, as if everything was okay. As if he wouldn't hurt her, as if nothing bad could happen. As if he wasn't a werewolf.

"You don't understand," he croaked, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Then make me," she said, squeezing his hand once more before letting it go. Remus thought she couldn't have made a more perfect nor frightening request. Before he had enough time to think about it, though, she was gathering all of her belongings into her bag.

"Where are you going?" Remus asked.

"Dinner," Ari said, "Aren't you?" With that she stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder, then looked back at Remus, waiting for him to join her. She had won. He groaned. He knew talking to her would be a bad idea. The difference was, he thought that this outcome was much better than the one he imagined. He just hoped he wouldn't regret it later.

Remus wasn't very hungry; he never was in the few days before a transformation. In fact, he felt like if he did eat something, he might puke. Regardless, he stood up and pushed his chair back in before walking to Ari's side. She smiled once more, and the pair walked down to the Great Hall, where they easily went their separate ways.

It was easy for Remus to settle into the Gryffindor table, next to Peter, across from Sirius, diagonal from James. It wasn't easy for him to keep his eyes, no his mind, off of Ari, though. He back was turned to him, but she was in full view, talking and laughing with her fellow Ravenclaws, seemingly unaffected by their previous encounter.

"Moony?" Sirius inquired, snapping his friend out of the trance he had been in.

"Yeah?" Remus jumped slightly. "What?"

"You doing okay?" James asked, slightly concerned.

"I'm fine," Remus replied, turning his attention back to his friends. He had been staring, unintentionally for the most part, at Ari for the past few minutes.

"Better than fine, I reckon," Sirius smirked as he grabbed some more chicken.

"Why?" Peter asked, looking from Sirius to Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes, already knowing where this conversation was heading. He prepared himself for another headache.

"I do believe our little Moony made up with his little girlfriend," Sirius said.

"About time," James said with a full mouth.

"She's not my girlfriend," Remus clarified. He reached forward to grab a piece of bread and ripped a small section off to plop into his mouth. He had to take eating slowly; he knew he wouldn't be able to handle much more.

"Friend with benefits, then?" Peter asked.

Sirius laughed, playfully patting Peter's shoulder. "Come on, Wormtail, can you really see our Moony having _that_ type of relationship with a girl?" Remus, although slightly confused as to why Sirius was suddenly now defending him, was about to thank his friend, but stopped in his tracks as Sirius continued: "She's definitely his girlfriend."

"Yeah," James agreed, "He's just afraid of saying it out loud, because then he'd have to admit he's giving up his bachelor life style." Remus rolled his eyes and Sirius grinned.

"I can see the biographies now," Peter said, "Remus Lupin: _The_ _Tamed Beast_."

James and Sirius roared into laughter. Remus began rubbing his temples in attempt to relieve his headache, but smiled nonetheless.

"I do have one question, though," Peter said once the laughter died down.

"What's that, Wormtail?" Sirius asked.

"Why haven't we met Moony's new girlfriend?"

James's jaw fell open and immediately dropped his food, as if he were shocked that he hadn't considered this before. He quickly composed himself, chewed, and swallowed before he spoke: "An excellent question, Wormtail!"

The three boys turned their eyes towards Remus, who immediately sighed. "Why haven't we met the mysterious new girlfriend, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Three reasons," Remus said, and his friends grinned. "Number one: you keep calling her my girlfriend."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather we call her your lover?"

"Your mistress?" James added.

"Snog-buddy?" Peter joined in.

Remus shook his head to each of their suggestions. "Friend, would be nice."

"No can do, Moony," Sirius smiled.

"Whatever this girl may be to you, she's certainly not just your _friend_," James said.

Sirius nodded. "You have many friends, Moony, and never before have you been so upset over one of them as you were over her."

"I'm pretty sure if I stopped talking to one of you, I'd be pretty upset." Remus offered in his defense.

"We don't count," James said. "Besides, you'll never be able to get rid of us." Remus didn't doubt it.

"What's reason number two?" Peter asked.

"Let's picture this for a moment," Remus reasoned, "The three of you, myself, and Ari. What could possibly go wrong?'

"What are you implying?" James asked.

"Just that the three of you would probably find some way to insult, embarrass, or otherwise scare her to death." Remus grinned.

"Moony!" Sirius slapped a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt! We would never scare your girlfriend away!"

"She's not my girlfriend," Remus sighed.

"That's not the point," James said.

"Emmeline!" Sirius suddenly yelled, and Remus winced.

As the four boys all turned to look at Emmeline—who had just been making her way towards the table with Lily by her side—she stood blankly a few feet away. She blinked a few times, confused. "Um, yeah?"

"Just the woman I wanted to see!" Sirius grinned, and Emmeline rolled her eyes, all of her immediate tension melting away. If Sirius just intended to hit on her, she could tell him off in a heartbeat. "I need your help!"

Surprised but intrigued, Emmeline sighed and walked over to take a seat next to him. Lily sat on the opposite side of the table, next to Remus, and as far away from James as possible. "What's up?" Emmeline said with an obvious bitterness in her tone.

"Remus here seems to think that if he introduces us to his new girly-friend, we're gonna scare her away." Sirius informed her.

"You have a girlfriend?" Lily asked Remus, surprised.

"She's not my girlfriend." Remus clarified.

"So you're talking to Ariadne again?" Emmeline asked, ignoring Sirius's plea.

Remus looked at her, shocked. "How did you know we weren't talking?"

"Uh," Emmeline furrowed her eyebrows, "It was pretty obvious?"

Remus looked around at all his friends. "Was it that obvious?"

"Yes." James and Sirius said at the same time, while Peter nodded his head and Lily giggled. Great, Remus thought. Here he had thought no one had really noticed. He didn't know whether to be pleased or depressed that no one had cared to ask.

"Back to the point," Sirius redirected the group, "Emmeline, please tell Remus that I would never scare his girlfriend away."

Emmeline cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going to have to side with Remus on this one."

"Emmeline!" Sirius cried.

"I'm with Remus as well," Lily offered with a smile, "the three of you would probably send her running in the other direction."

"Lily!" James whined.

"What's number three?" Peter asked, realizing that this argument would go nowhere productive.

"What was number one?" Emmeline asked, confused.

"I believe a better question is what are we counting?" Lily asked.

"The reasons Remus won't introduce us to his new girlfriend." Peter said.

"I repeat: what was number one?" Emmeline asked.

"She's not his girlfriend." Peter replied.

"But she's more than a friend," James added.

"When did that happen?" Emmeline asked.

"It didn't." Remus sighed, rubbing his temples again. Lily smiled softly and squeezed Remus's shoulder briefly to let him know she was there for him. He smiled thankfully at her, then returned his gaze to his friends.

"Number three?" Emmeline asked.

"Number three," Remus began, "is that I don't want these prats to take advantage of her and or annoy her to death. No offense, but you guys suck at talking to girls like they're your friend and not a tool for your own amusement or knowledge."

James, Peter, and Sirius all cocked an eyebrow and looked at each other, confused. Emmeline and Lily burst out laughing.

"What are you talking about, Remus?" James asked.

"James, you're not allowed to ask her for advice regarding how to win Lily over," Remus began. Lily blushed and James smiled. He always thought Lily was cute when she blushed.

"Oh, Lily," Sirius grinned, "You should see him. The second he starts talking to a girl, it's all about you. How do I get Lily to like me? Why won't she give me a chance? Blah, blah."

Lily looked to Emmeline, who nodded her head, letting the girl know that what Sirius said was indeed true. Emmeline could recall a few times that James had come up to her in the common room or the library asking for help regarding Lily.

"Same goes for you, Pete, only with Marlene instead of Lily," Remus continued, and Peter turned red. Everyone knew that Peter had a crush on Marlene McKinnon ever since she had stood up for him back in first year when a few of the Slytherins were picking on him.

"And Sirius, for the love of god, don't flirt with her," Remus sighed, "_that_ might scare her away for good."

James and Peter joined Lily and Emmeline in their fit of laughter, and Sirius smirked. "More like she'd leave you to come running towards me, mate, but I see why you're concerned. I am, after all, astonishingly handsome."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Sure, if you can get past the big nose and screwed up cheekbones."

"I have magnificent cheekbones, thank you." Sirius said. "Anyway, Moony, I assure you, I will not flirt with your girlfriend. I have a plethora of other women to seduce," he said as he stretched his arms out, letting one land over Emmeline's shoulders.

"Sirius," Emmeline warned, "I will only tell you one more time. Remove your arm from my body or I will personally slip an embarrassing hex your way in the midst of your Quidditch match next week."

Sirius grinned. "Wouldn't be the first time you hexed me," he said, although he placed his arm back on the table.

"Allegedly," Emmeline said, sliding a few inches away from him.

"Well," James said, "this has been fun. Remus, I expect we'll be meeting your mistress soon, but for now there's a charms essay I have yet to write that's been screaming my name for a few days now."

"Oh, hell!" Emmeline's eyes widened. "I completely forgot about that!"

"Come on, then," James said, "We'll help each other out."

Emmeline rolled her eyes, knowing she would be doing most of the helping, but was grateful for the company. The night seemed a lot longer when you had no one to talk to every now and again. "One condition," she said, "You can't ask me anything about Lily."

"No promises," James grinned and glanced at Lily, who blushed.

"Em, you haven't even eaten yet." Lily reminded her.

"Homework is more important, Lily!" Emmeline said, but grabbed some bread and an apple as she stood up to join James.

"I'm coming, too!" Sirius said suddenly, jumping up from his seat. Emmeline groaned but said nothing, and the three began to walk off together.

"Um, Remus?" Peter said quietly as he too stood up.

"Yeah?"

"Would you be willing to help with the Charms essay?" he asked shyly, Remus figured because Lily was still there.

"Sure, Pete," Remus smiled. "I'll be there in a few minutes." He wasn't done with his piece of bread yet; he had to take it slowly, bit by bit, to make sure he could keep it down. Thankfully, there was only a little left.

Peter nodded and ran off to catch up with the others. Sirius slapped him on the back playfully once he did, welcoming him into the little group, and the four of them exited the Great Hall.

"And then there were two," Lily said, turning to Remus. "How are you feeling?"

Remus cocked an eyebrow, and Lily laughed.

"Sorry," she said, "I guess that was a stupid question."

"It's alright," Remus said. Honestly, he felt better than he had the day before. He suspected it had something to do with the major weight that had been lifted off his shoulders only hours before.

"Does James really ask about me that much?" Lily asked, biting her bottom lip.

"He asks about you a lot, yeah," he said, "but not as much as Sirius and I made it seem."

Lily nodded, grateful. "So, this girlfriend of yours," she said.

"Not you, too," Remus groaned, cutting her off.

Lily smiled. "More than a friend but less than a girlfriend?"

"I never said she was more than a friend," Remus said, "that was all James."

"So you really are just friends?" Lily asked.

Remus started to nod his head, but then remembered the way Ari had reached out to touch his hand. "I don't know," he admitted. It felt weird to him.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Lily asked, although she had the full intention of tell him regardless of whether he wanted to hear it or not.

"What?" Remus sighed.

"I think," she paused, "you wouldn't have stopped talking to her in the first place, if you only thought of her as a friend."

Remus nodded in acknowledgement. Although he didn't want to think too much of it, he knew Lily had a point. He had no idea, though, what he was going to do with it.

"You know, you can always feel free to come talk to me," she offered, "I imagine those three aren't much help in the girl department."

Remus meant to say thank you, but instead, he blurted the question that had been on his mind all supper: "What would you do?"

"If I were you?" Lily clarified. Remus nodded. "I would... let it run its course."

"What about my..." Remus trailed off, but Lily understood.

"If she cares, she won't mind," Lily said.

"Hey, Lily?" Remus asked, suddenly changing the topic.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I, uh. What do you mean?" Lily asked, completely caught off guard.

"James," Remus said, "seems to think there's something wrong. And I agree that you have been pretty quiet lately."

"Oh," Lily laughed light-heartedly. "He worries too much. I'm fine."

Remus nodded. "I better go help Peter with Charms. But thanks, Lily. You can come talk to me, too, you know."

"Sure," Lily said as Remus stood up. He strolled out of the Great Hall with one last smile towards Lily. "And then there was one," Lily said, poking her fork at her food. She was by herself now. Alone.

* * *

**What's this blasphemy? Two chapters in one week? Honestly, I felt bad about the huge gap between the last two chapters, and I hope this starts to make up for it. Forgive me if there are mistakes, though, I didn't edit it very thoroughly.**

**If you enjoyed the chapter, or if something really upset you, please leave a review! It really makes my day and convinces me to keep writing when I get a review from you guys, no matter how small it is. Tell me who your favorite character is, or what you think should happen next! I have to majority of the plot already planned, but I'm open to suggestions :)  
**

**Thank you to everyone who is reading, and I hope ya'll have a good night :)  
**


End file.
